Children of the Revolution
by Quatermass
Summary: (WBWL!) Nurture wins out over nature. A girl with horns is saved from a dark fate by a witch from Britain and her son, who also has horns. But the ghosts of the past have come back to haunt the present. Harry Evans, Diclonius King, lover of Kaede Lucille 'Lucy' Evans, must go through the Tri-Wizard Tournament...and completing the Tasks may be the easy part...
1. Foreword

**FOREWORD**

So…once more, I'm making yet another rod for my back with yet another crossover. Still, it's one that, I think, hasn't been done enough of, or at least not enough Potterverse crossovers. Most are short, abandoned works, with the only substantial one I like being the now-abandoned _Alpha Queen_ by sakurademonalchemist.

This is, of course, _Elfen Lied_.

I recently finished watching the series, the anime version anyway, and it has to be one of the most relentlessly depressing and gratuitously grotesque series I have ever watched. Nonetheless, there is still something compelling about the series. And given the rather sad ending to the series and many of its characters, I wanted to do a story that gave many of the characters a happier life. It doesn't necessarily mean it will stay that way: while this story is a much lighter shade than the anime series, this is still _Elfen Lied_. But it's still going to be a somewhat happier story. I will be including a few elements from the manga, true, but on the whole, I am basing this more on the anime.

In writing this story, I am indebted to sakurademonalchemist, whose _Alpha Queen_ provided the spin on Diclonius birth and infection that I am using in this story. I am also indebted to Arawn D Draven, with whom I discussed possible crossover stories at great length. Their patience is something I am grateful for. I also decided to do this as a different sort of WBWL fic than I usually do.

Also, as a little quirk of this story, the chapter titles will be either Beatles songs, or songs by members of the Beatles. Why? Lucy, I heard once, was named for the Australopithecine skeleton…and that was named for the song _Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds_.

Anyway, time for the usual disclaimers. Firstly, there will be spoilers for both Harry Potter and _Elfen Lied_.

Secondly, there will be heavy annotations, as is usual for my works. You have been warned.

Thirdly, this is an M-Rated work. There will be coarse language, violence, dark themes and sexual references, and while it won't quite be as bad as _Elfen Lied_ canon, well, there will still be some disturbing violence and references. Again, you have been warned.

Finally, the following is a fan-written work. Harry Potter and _Elfen Lied_ are the properties of their respective owners. Please support the official release. Otherwise, Lucy will use her Vectors on you, set to 'blend'…


	2. Chapter 1: A Day in the Life

**CHAPTER 1:**

 **A DAY IN THE LIFE**

Kamakura. Once, it had been the capital of Japan, centuries ago. Now, it was a small coastal city, home to many sites of religious and historical importance, not to mention a number of annual festivals.

But secretly, it was a place of considerable importance. It was a place where the future of the human race was being decided on a daily basis. It was a place perpetually on the knife edge of utter chaos and violence.

There were two places of considerable importance to this matter around Kamakura. The first was on an island off the coast of Kamakura, once intended to be a chamber of horrors and inhumanity, but was now more of a place of hope. The second, in the Maple Inn, a former restaurant turned boarding house, a refuge of sorts.

A peace, a calm of sorts had descended on both places, insomuch as they could, given the circumstances. But peace is an ephemeral condition, a metastable state that needs only a light push to topple…

* * *

The facility originally did not have a name. Oh, it had a designation listed under the Japanese Ministry of Health, but it was so top secret, it didn't have a name. The construction seemed to be a hybrid of hospital, heavy duty biohazard laboratory, and nuclear shelter. It was like something out of fiction, like the creation of some overfunded corporate conspiracy creating bioweapons.

True, a conspiracy was involved in its creation, and the original director of the facility, Kakuzawa, was indeed involved in creating bioweapons, albeit of a specific sort. Thankfully, he and his deranged brood were now dead, and the facility had changed in purpose, becoming part research lab and part school. It had even gained a name, well, more than one. Officially, it was known as the Diclonius Research and Education Facility.

Many of its employees and students called it the Cuckoos' Nest.

Director Lily Kurama certainly thought it apt at the moment. She was pinching the bridge of her nose as she listened to the argument going on. Apparently Saito and Shirakawa were bickering about who would get priority on the upcoming paper they intended to publish on Vector detection and measurement, while Arakawa looked like she just wanted to get on with her research. Her husband Dr Masashi Kurama(1) looked like he needed more coffee.

Eventually, Lily just snapped, "Okay, enough. Saito, you can put your name first. Merlin, it's like dealing with schoolchildren." As Shirakawa scowled, Lily continued, looking down at her notes, "Now, to less scientific matters, I've had to repair the wall in Lab 3 again. Little Mariko got a little too playful with those chemicals, and there was a dent the size of a cannonball in the wall, not to mention we got a test of how effective the sprinkler system is. She loves to test boundaries. And I've already talked to her, Masashi. Still, we need to keep her on the wand exclusion list for now."

Dr Kurama nodded, shuddering inwardly at the thought of his biological daughter having wands. The chaos she would cause. Still, better property damage than, well, injuries and death. "What about Mahoutokoro?" he asked.

"The School Board has rejected schooling Diclonii on-campus again," Lily said with a sigh. "A lot of influential families have put pressure on them to keep them out after the expulsion of my children, and even with them gaining their qualifications, there's still a lot of fear and resentment. However, Headmaster Tohsaka assures me that Professor Matou will be able to continue doing his duties as an on-site tutor here(2)."

"I guess it's as close to a compromise as we're ever going to get with the damned wizards," Kurama muttered. "It took ages for the Ministry here to classify them as people rather than _youkai_. And even then, I still hear some people calling this a den of _oni_. Or worse, _akuma_."

"Prejudice and xenophobia will never go away, Masashi," Lily said, smiling tiredly at her husband. "We're working to mitigate the impact the Diclonii have on humanity and vice versa. And clearing up misconceptions is part of it."

She would have said more, but the door opened, revealing a pair of figures. One was a young Japanese woman with glasses and a ditzy demeanour, holding a tray with mugs on them. The other was a girl, apparently in her early teens, with short hair a shade of pink, along with her eyes, with a pair of what looked like horns in the shape of cat ears protruding from her temple. "Thanks, Nana," the woman said to the girl, the mugs wobbling a little.

The girl nodded. "You're welcome, Miss Kisaragi! Nana's always happy to help." With that, the tray gently lifted itself from Kisaragi's hands, and placed itself on the table, before the mugs seemingly lifted off the tray by themselves and floated across the room, placing themselves in front of their recipients, with nary a drop spilled.

"I still can't get over that," Shirakawa said as she blew on her own coffee. "Vectors being used to serve up coffee and tea. Maybe you should be a barista, Nana."

"Umm, Nana wants to be an Auror, actually. I want to go and catch the bad guys with my Vectors!" Nana said.

Lily chuckled softly. Part of it was genuine amusement at Nana's enthusiasm and energy. And part of it was sad and bitter cynicism, knowing that the odds of Nana achieving her dream were slim, due to prejudice.

Nana was a Diclonius, an offshoot subspecies of _Homo sapiens_ with powers many would consider unnatural. Well, so would wizards and witches, but Diclonii were even more different to humans than wizards or witches were. Leaving aside the powers, most Diclonii had hair and eyes with distinct shades of red and pink. What's more, they had horns protruding from the sides of their heads, at the temples, along with an enlarged pineal gland. Not to mention an increased aggressive instinct, though that could be mitigated. They could move and even damage things from afar using 'Vectors', a psychokinetic projection of will that could take the form of ghostly hands on arms.

There were two types of Diclonius. Nana belonged to the subtype known as a 'Silpelit', a term derived from the _Elfenlied_ or _Fairy Song_ by Eduard Mörike(3). The best analogy for a Silpelit was like a worker or soldier ant in a hive, and almost invariably female. Despite appearing to be in her early teens, Nana was actually only six years old. She was also sterile, though Lily was working to correct that with treatment. Silpelits made up the vast majority of Diclonii, being those born to magicals or Muggles with enough magical potential infected by a certain virus. Or, when certain dormant genes awoke.

Lily didn't know it, but she had Diclonius genes in her distant ancestry. And sometimes, with the right mutations, said genes could become active again. It explained how her first child was a Diclonius King, and her second child was just a wizard. Not that it didn't stop James from accusing her of cuckolding him when he saw the horns on their first son. She had snidely retorted that it was the husband who had to wear the cuckold's horns, not the child. And inheritance tests didn't lie. Unfortunately, that had spelled the beginning of the end of their marriage, something that ended completely after that fateful Halloween back in '91, now 13 years ago, when her second child had been declared the Boy Who Lived.

A Diclonius King or Queen grew normally, and was not sterile. To their knowledge, only two such Diclonii currently existed, and both of them were her children. One by birth, and the other by adoption. Which made it all the more awkward when they began, well, falling for each other. Still, better a relationship that was only incestuous on paper than one that was incestuous in fact as well.

"Do we have any further business?" Lily asked the others. Upon seeing the various headshakes, she then said, "All right. It looks like it's time to caffeinate. Now, remember, Bandoh's started the initiation of the newest recruits to the Special Security Squad this morning. If you see armed personnel you don't recognise, that is why."

"Scaring the…faecal matter," Arakawa changed her sentence at the last moment, "out of the newbies, no doubt? Let me guess, your kids are down there too?"

"Nana saw Big Brother and Big Sister down there with Mean Mr Bandoh!" Nana chirped. If there was ever a Diclonius who went wholly against the norm for them, it was Nana. Her name was something of a bad joke: she was the seventh abandoned Silpelit brought here, and was initially given the appellation Subject Seven. In Japanese, the word for seven was 'nana', and it was also a fairly common girl's name. But she was so cheerful and joyful and playful and gentle, the violent instincts common to virtually all Diclonius almost entirely absent in her.

"Probably there to give a lesson," Lily said. "By the way, Kisaragi, was there any mail for me?"

The rather absent-minded and clumsy secretary blinked behind her glasses, before she thumped her fist into her hand. "Ah, yes! I left it in your office this time, Lily. There was also that newspaper, the Japanese magical one! Actually, I think your son was in the headlines. Something to do with a fiery cup, and a tournament."

Lily turned her gaze to the ditzy woman, and said, in a flat, dangerous tone that scared even Diclonii, " _What._ "

* * *

"He's enjoying this too much," a boy, or a young man, of about eighteen remarked to a girl of the same age standing next to him as they watched a thuggish-looking man with tanned skin and close-cropped hair lectured (well, verbally abused) a dozen or so men.

The girl scoffed. She had shoulder-length bright pink hair, and crimson eyes. Her beautiful features were frequently marred by a habitual scowl, though a sardonic smirk was touching her lips. "We enjoy putting fear into these guys too. Don't deny it, Harry."

The young man chuckled. His hair was a messy thatch that was mahogany coloured, his eyes emerald, with flecks of pink visible when one got close. Both had horns that vaguely looked like cat ears, or perhaps like the shells of some sort of marine creature, protruding from the temples of their heads. "True. I just think Bandoh enjoys it way too much, Lucy. I mean, does he think he's R Lee Ermey or something?"

Lucy, whose official name was Kaede Lucille Evans, chuckled in her turn. Then, they paid attention when Bandoh pointed to them. "Now, listen up, maggots! This is your enemy! Now, no doubt you've heard the stories about horned children, like _oni_ out of some fairytale, acting like they're out of _Akira_ or the X-Men or some shit like that! Maybe you've heard horror stories about families getting liquidised by scary psychic powers! Well, the reality is even worse than that. These two are Harry and Kaede Evans, though they like to be confusing and call Kaede 'Lucy'. You know, like the fucking Beatles song about drugs or that skeleton they dug up in Africa."

Harry waved cheerfully, giving a smile that showed perhaps too many teeth. Lucy just smirked maliciously, her fringe obscuring part of her face, but not her crimson eyes. Probably one of the few things they had in common with Bandoh was enjoying scaring the shit out of greenhorns joining the security forces of the Cuckoos' Nest.

"Now, take note of them. Other than the horns and their eyes and hair colour, they don't look that different from your average guy. But, and I say this without any fucking hyperbole whatsoever, that they are the deadliest people in this facility. These, then, are Diclonii. Now, you two, show them your magic tricks. Make those pencils you have disappear."

They were in a massive training hall, and a small group of ballistic dummies, made of ballistics gel, latex skin, and a skeleton substitute, were present. Harry and Lucy used their Vectors to remove the pencils they had in their pockets, before they threw them through the foreheads of the dummies. The backs of the heads of the dummies they targeted exploded in a gory spray.

"See that? If that doesn't scare you, then I dunno what will. And keep in mind, the skulls in those dummies are almost as tough as a human skull. See how the pencils rose by themselves? Those were Vectors in action. Now, I could go all technical and tell you how Vectors are psychokinetic projections, blah blah blah, but it's easier to think of them as invisible hands and arms. Hell, they even leave handprints. And while the number of Vectors and their ranges vary from Diclonius to Diclonius, they generally have a range of about two metres when they ain't throwing shit at you. And each Vector has basically three settings, vibrating at different frequencies, kinda like that thing your wife has hidden in her drawer(4)!"

A round of uneasy laughter filled the room. Then, Bandoh continued. "Setting one is basically being able to render the Vectors intangible. That means they can reach inside your body and shift shit around. I've seen Kaede there give someone a stroke by bursting a blood vessel inside the brain, and Harry there actually gave someone a lobotomy. Setting two is what you just saw: the Vectors become tangible, and are good at picking up shit and throwing it. They can pick up a car or a boat and throw it at you like a goddamned _kaiju_. And setting three?"

That was their cue. Harry and Lucy walked over to a fresh pair of ballistics gel dummies. Lucy swiftly severed the head and arms of the dummy, before bisecting it diagonally. Opting to ditch subtlety and grace entirely, Harry used his Vectors to rapidly mince the dummy, sending ballistics gel everywhere in a gooey splatter.

With perfect timing, Bandoh remarked, "Now, imagine that happening to one of you. Plus, another scary thing Vectors can do. Heads up you two!" And with that, he raised his MP5 and began firing at Harry and Lucy. After he fired the entire magazine at them, he gestured at the bullets hanging in mid-air, and the others lying on the ground. "Unless you catch them by surprise, you'd need some pretty heavy duty firepower to get through their Vectors. We're talking high calibre rifle rounds here at the bare minimum. THAT is what you maggots are up against. Get that through your thick skulls, or you'll get a pencil through yours. Now, it's worth pointing out that going after Diclonii is not our sole duty. We'll have to be going after humans who have kidnapped Diclonii to use as weapons, not to mention wizards. You already had Lupin show you what he can do with his wand. Also, we're here to help guard the Diclonii from those who wish them harm. That may seem laughable, but the difference between us and them? We won't leave as much of a mess. Now, get to the VR training facility on the double! I want to see how much I have to train you maggots to get you to acceptable. And Sasaki(5), take a goddamned shower and change first! I can smell the shit in your pants from here!"

The group left. Bandoh lingered behind, sighing. "I've got my work cut out for me with that lot. We're getting the rejects who couldn't make the JSDF or my old outfit, or else are reservists. Like that idiot otaku Itami(6)."

"Itami's okay once he got over the fanboying," Harry said.

"He kept trying to touch my horns," Lucy grumbled. "He's lucky to keep his fingers. Annoying otaku."

"Heh. Well, I've got some greenhorns to beat into shape," Bando said. "Once I'm done, I want another spar with you two. I wanna get that blood pumping."

"Be careful what you wish for," Lucy said with a vicious grin. "They finally delivered that steamroller I wanted. I can go all Dio Brando on you(7)."

Bando laughed as he left the chamber, leaving the two Diclonii alone. "No, but seriously, I do want to use a steamroller on him," Lucy said.

"You and me both, Lucy. At least we have the excuses of a bloody annoying voice in our head. How did a sociopath like him get into the NPA's Special Assault Teams(8)?"

"One of the many great mysteries of the world, Harry," she said. And he felt her hand intertwine with his own. On instinct, he brought out one of his Vectors…and intertwined it with one she brought out. It was a familiar gesture to the two lovers. Hand-holding physically and psychically.

As they turned to look at each other, smiling, not the twisted smirks they often showed, but genuine happiness, the door slid open, and the staccato rap of angry heels on the floor interrupted the moment. "I'm sorry to interrupt, you two…but we have a problem," Lily Kurama, née Evans, formerly Lily Potter, said.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked, turning to his mother, and when he saw the thunderous expression on her face, he knew he and Lucy would be demolishing the rest of the ballistics dummies here. And when Lily spoke next, he knew why.

"You have been entered as a fourth Champion of the Tri-Wizard Tournament."

 **CHAPTER 1 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **And on that bombshell, goodnight!**

 **Okay, we'll be seeing more** ** _Elfen Lied_** **characters in the next chapter, particularly the Maple Inn residents, and we'll be hearing more about their past exploits, albeit as background to this story.**

 **1\. I chose Masashi as Kurama's first name as a reference to Masashi Kishimoto, the creator of** ** _Naruto_** **. After all, Kurama was the name of the** ** _Kyuubi_** **, albeit named for another character from** ** _Yu Yu Hakusho_** **.**

 **2\. In an abortive attempt at a crossover with** ** _Sekirei_** **(** ** _Green Girl and Her Wizard_** **, which can be found in** ** _The Cauldron_** **), I used modified Nasuverse characters as OC stand-ins. I decided to re-use that here.**

 **3\. There are actually two** ** _Elfenlieds_** **, but the one that inspired the manga and later anime was this one.**

 **4\. This is a variation on what Boomstick says in the recent** ** _Death Battle_** **episode pitting Carnage against Lucy. I couldn't resist adding it as Bandoh's bit of snark.**

 **5\. Named for Johnny Sasaki from the** ** _Metal Gear Solid_** **games, who has a rather troublesome bowel problem.**

 **6\. This character is based on Youji Itami, the main protagonist of** ** _GATE: Thus the JSDF Fought There_** **.**

 **7\. Dio Brando, one of the main antagonists of** ** _JoJo's Bizarre Adventure_** **, is of course infamous for using a steamroller to try and kill Jotaro Kujo, with either a scream of "ROAD ROLLER DA!" or, in the dub, "I'M GONNA ROLL ALL OVER YOU!"**

 **8\. The NPA, as** ** _Death Note_** **viewers would probably know, is the Japanese federal police agency. The SATs are basically SWAT teams.**


	3. Chapter 2: With a Little Help from My

**CHAPTER 2:**

 **WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS**

The Maple Inn. A boarding house that presently housed an eclectic group of people. Three couples resided there, along with a variety of children, though in truth, one of the couples was rarely present, what with their work.

The main couple here were a pair of university students, Kohta Okamoto and his cousin, Yuka Maruyama(1). They had become acquainted years ago with what was, at the time, the Evans family during one of the festivals at Kamakura, and the Evans became friends, eventually, with the Okamotos. True, the horns on Harry and Lucy did cause some comment, and there were a few tricky moments, but thankfully, nothing disastrous. The worst they had to deal with was Yuka and Kanae's jealousy towards Lucy, who had grabbed Kohta's attention.

There had been more than a few trials and travails, but considering that Diclonii were involved, there were thankfully no deaths or blood involved. Well, except where a few rather nasty pieces of work were concerned, like the Kakuzawa family. Or the father of one of the current residents of the Maple Inn, Mayu.

Mayu was a sweet, but timid girl in her early teens. The residents of the Maple Inn had stumbled across her in the streets, with a puppy in tow, and had learned the girl's rather grotesque story, a story that had led Harry and Lucy to pay a visit to the girl's stepfather and mother. While Lucy and Harry preferred to get visceral with any opponents they faced, what happened to Mayu had them get _creative_. The mother got off lightly when she was buried alive with only an air supply fed to the coffin. She died more quickly than the stepfather, and she took a week to die.

Mayu's puppy, Wanta, was a welcome addition to the household, as Lucy's own dog, Pochi(2), had died recently. He'd had a long and happy life, and Lucy knew that, had she not been adopted from that orphanage, Pochi ran the risk of being attacked by her tormentors. But the loss still hurt Lucy.

Nana also lived here when she wasn't at the Cuckoos' Nest, as did Lily and her husband, though the latter two tended to sleep over at the Cuckoos' Nest more often than not. The cheerful Silpelit was firm friends with Mayu, and indeed, was friends with virtually everyone in the Maple Inn. Nana was easy to like, and to be frank, Lucy was actually a little jealous at that.

So it was that, at noon, Harry, Lucy and Nana took their Portkey back to Maple Inn, specifically the front yard. Nana, as was her wont to do when she used a Portkey, staggered around. If this was a cartoon, her eyes would be swirly spirals. Harry and Lucy's expressions, though, were grim. They gently held onto Nana until her swaying stopped, though.

Yuka emerged from the door, and peered out, her short brown hair framing pretty features. "Oh, hello. We weren't expecting you back for lunch. Would you like me to rustle something up?"

"No, I'll prepare it myself," Harry said. "I need it to calm down."

Yuka, after a moment, nodded. "Something bad happen?" she asked.

"You could say that," Lucy scoffed. While she couldn't say that she and Yuka were friends, the two had something of a détente. Lucy personally thought that Yuka was a harpy with a hair-trigger jealousy button, and Yuka thought that Lucy was a homicidal maniac on a leash that barely restrained her. Harry and Kohta were frequently roped in to be mediators between the two. But the two could be expected to be civil, even nice (for a given value of nice, anyway) to each other.

"How many dummies?" Yuka asked resignedly.

"Two dozen. I did most of them," Harry said.

"Wow. That…that must've been something bad. I haven't seen you like this since Mayu told us about her parents," Yuka said. "Come on, you can tell us about it over lunch…"

* * *

Cooking was therapeutic to Harry, and he had learned to cook Japanese cuisine as well as that of his native England. Around the table, Kohta, Yuka, Mayu, Lucy and Nana were gathered. Harry used his Vectors expertly to place the plates of food around the table. "So, what happened?" Yuka asked.

"Someone, we don't know who, somehow entered my name into the Tri-Wizard Tournament," Harry said.

"Tri-Wizard Tournament?" Mayu asked. "What is that?"

"Mother told me that it's a competition between the three premiere magic schools of Europe," Lucy explained patiently to the timid girl, one of the few people she was willingly patient for. "Hogwarts of Britain, Beauxbatons of France, and Durmstrang of Scandinavia, though they take students from Eastern Europe. Viktor Krum, the star Seeker of the Bulgarian national Quidditch team, is in his last year at Durmstrang."

"And, according to the newspaper Mum was delivered, he's now Durmstrang's Champion in the Tri-Wizard Tournament," Harry said. "The Tournament was last held in 1792, and was actually banned because of the high death toll. Not just for the competitors either, as a Cockatrice broke free and injured the judges during the last one. So, naturally, some braindead moron called Ludo Bagman gets it into his tiny little concussed mind to revive it. Bagman was once a Beater for the Wimbourne Wasps, probably took one Bludger to the skull too many. Allegedly, it will be less dangerous than traditional Tri-Wizard Tournaments, but…"

"The point is, according to the newspaper, the Champions were selected by a magical artifact known as the Goblet of Fire," Lucy said. "If the Goblet selects your name, you're effectively under a geas, a magical contract, to participate in the Tri-Wizard Tournament, or lose your magic if you refuse to participate. And to a wizard, losing one's magic could be fatal. I don't know how someone managed to put Harry's name in, but heads are going to roll, quite literally."

"Lucy…" Kohta said in as placating a manner as the Japanese boy could muster. "I know you're upset that Harry has been placed in this thing against his will, but do you think violence will solve it? I mean, I know your go-to solution for a lot of things is overwhelming violence, but the repercussions…"

"Someone put Harry, the one I love most in this world aside from Mother, into a dangerous tournament or forfeit his magic and potentially his life." Lucy's crimson eyes met Kohta's. It wasn't a glare: Lucy held Kohta in considerable regard, calling him the best human she ever knew apart from Lily. But there was a rebuke in the gaze all the same. "That is a threat to his life. I do not know why or who, only that they will regret their folly."

"Well, that is the question, isn't it?" Yuka asked. "Who would want to kill Harry? Well, more to the point, who in _Britain_ would? From what Lily told me, her ex-husband's more apathetic and disdainful towards Harry than outright murderous. It'd make more sense to go after your brother, Harry, considering he's the Boy Who Lived."

"Allegedly," Harry said bitterly. "That was the time I first used my Vectors, to deflect the Killing Curse, I'm sure it was. And according to what Moony learned from the old goat, Voldemort's still alive. A shade, a wraith, but still alive. Not to mention that riot of Death Eaters at the Quidditch World Cup. If Lucy and I were there…"

"Yes, I'm sure it'd look like something out of _Hellsing_ after Alucard's done his thing," Kohta said, blanching.

"We don't drink blood," Lucy said, giving a very vicious smirk. She left the part about her all but bathing in it out. Mayu was still a little unused to Harry and Lucy's violent tendencies. "But you're right. What if this is an attempt at killing Harry by proxy by one of the Death Eaters who got off?"

Nana pouted. "These Death Eaters are mean. Nana doesn't like them."

Harry gently patted the Silpelit on the head with a Vector. She was his little sister figure. Hell, Mayu and Mariko were also part of the family, though Mariko…she was hard to deal with at times. The mischief of a child, mixed with the lethality of a Diclonius. She was much better than she could have been, true, but when you mixed petulant tantrums with Vectors, it wasn't a pretty sight.

Nana, on the other hand, was a sweet little thing, and had something not unlike an innocence that was endearing. You couldn't quite call it innocence, as she knew very well what she was capable of, what her big brother and big sister had done, what her father figure had very nearly agreed to do before Lily pulled him away from the brink. But Nana was, in Lucy's words, ' _an annoyingly cheerful optimist who is impossible to hate_ '. Nana and (albeit later) Mayu had become the glue that held the inhabitants of Maple Inn together.

"Well, if you're stuck in it now, might as well make the most of it," Kohta said. On their looks, he said, "Look, Harry, you and Lucy are pretty powerful. You can use Vectors and magic. Most Diclonii can. I don't think you have anything to worry about."

"Except what the wizards think," Lucy said. "They _barely_ tolerate our existence. Harry and I were expelled over helping a student land safely during broomstick practise using our Vectors. We even tried not to infect him, and we succeeded. But no, they don't care. No good deed goes unpunished. And the British are, by all accounts, as bad as the Japanese here. Imagine what'd happen if we had to face a Class XXXXX creature and had to use our Vectors to survive and kill said creature…how would they view us?" She tapped one of her horns knowingly. "And these would be seen as diabolical, no matter where we went."

"They look like cute cat ears," Mayu said.

"Maybe to you. But to some…well, in some parts of the world, they'd view us as devils," Lucy said. "Not without reason, too."

"Better the devil you know," Kohta remarked. "Besides…you have us. We care about you guys, even if you are Diclonii."

"Exactly," Yuka said. "We may have our differences and issues, but I care. People are stupid and prejudiced, and while you are violent and vicious…I know you well enough to know there's more to you than that, Lucy." A sardonic smirk touched her features. "Besides, wizards have a low IQ due to inbreeding. Science fact."

Lucy snorted, trying and failing to keep a smirk off her own lips. "Still…thank you, Yuka."

"Can you wear a hat indoors at Hogwarts?" Mayu asked.

"Maybe, to a degree, but the British have as many rules of etiquette as we do here in Japan, even if many are different," Lucy said.

"Maybe you could wear a headband like Nana!" Nana said.

"I don't want to hide what I am," Harry said. He reached up and touched his horns. "I am a Diclonius. If they take issue with that…then it's their funeral."

"Hopefully not literally," Kohta said.

"Apparently Mum's trying to get in touch with the old goat and find out what the hell happened. We'll probably be getting officials from the British Ministry of Magic coming around. If they do come around, we'll probably have to keep you out of the way. They have a bad habit of Obliviating Muggles, even those who are supposed to know about magic," Harry said. "The Purebloods may be effectively in charge here, but in Britain, it's apparently worse. At least here, there's more of a meritocracy for Muggleborns and a tolerance of magical creatures."

" _Barely_ ," Lucy sneered. "It's only because of the _youkai_ here. And a lot of the old Pureblood families were wiped out during the Second World War. The others only retained as much power as they did by sponsoring other families, but it means they're still in charge. It's still a backbiting cesspool. And they're waiting for an excuse, along with elements of the mundane government, to wipe us out. They want Mother to fail."

"She won't. Unless they sabotage her. And if they do…" Harry's eyes met her own. "Then it'll be the last mistake they make."

An ominous chill filled the room briefly. Eventually, Yuka dispelled it by saying, "You know, you always cook at your best when you're angry. Not that your food isn't good when you're not, but…"

"It depends. Remember when I used my Vectors to try and make sashimi?"

Yuka grimaced. "I'm trying to forget that. We were picking bits of fish out of everywhere for _weeks._ "

"Can't be any worse than the Takoyaki Incident," Kohta said unwisely, before Yuka glared at him.

"First Rule of Maple Inn: We do NOT talk about the Takoyaki Incident. Second Rule of Maple Inn…"

"You only say that because the batter got in your hair, Yuka," Lucy said with a smirk.

"I HAD TO WEAR A WIG! NO BATTER SHOULD SET LIKE GLUE AND NEED ME TO HAVE MY HAIR CUT OFF!"

"And you looked fetching in that pink wig," Harry said. "You looked like one of us."

"One of us, one of us, gooble-gobble, gooble-gobble," Lucy chanted(3). Nana joined in, waving her arms in a seated dance.

Yuka, despite being mortified, actually didn't mind the playful teasing, Harry knew. It reassured her, despite knowing about the dark nature of the Diclonii, of their murderous instincts, that they were still human in most regards, the truly essential ones. The line between human and Diclonius was far more blurry than many would like. Hell, the killer instinct of the Diclonii was, in all likelihood, something all humans had shared, but was usually buried under the trappings of civilisation and society. An instinct to eliminate all possible threats to one's existence, so that the species could go on.

But what nature had inflicted on them, nurture could mitigate. Harry knew that he and Lucy were not paragons of what was laughably called humanity. They had fairly loose morals and a tendency to act violently to slights and threats against them and their loved ones. But his mother had never treated him as anything other than her son, and she had done the same to Lucy when she adopted her. His mother once told him that Dumbledore had claimed love to be the most powerful magic of all, and while he had to sneer at such sentimental nonsense, the truth was, without love, they may have become the very monsters humans feared them to be.

Here, Harry had family and friends. It was a strange, eclectic and even a little twisted group of people, but they were bound together. He would protect them to his dying breath. Especially Lucy. And he knew she would too…

 **CHAPTER 2 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **So, we've got a glimpse of life in the Maple Inn. A strange family, but hey.**

 **1\. Okamoto is, of course, the last name of the** ** _Elfen Lied_** **creator, Lynn Okamoto, while Maruyama comes from Kugane Maruyama, the writer of** ** _Overlord_** **.**

 **2\. Pochi was the name of the dog as given in sakurademonalchemist's** ** _Alpha Queen_** **. I don't know whether the dog has a canon name yet, so I'm going with that.**

 **3\. Lucy is quoting from the old movie** ** _Freaks_** **, which has been quoted in shows like** ** _The League of Gentlemen_** **and** ** _The Big Bang Theory_** **.**


	4. Chapter 3: A Hard Day's Night

**CHAPTER 3:**

 **A HARD DAY'S NIGHT**

Dumbledore wasn't looking forward to this meeting. He hadn't spoken face to face with Lily since that night thirteen years ago. He thought she had taken too much offence in declaring Charles Potter to be the Boy Who Lived. After all, who would accept one like Harry, a Diclonius as they called them, as their saviour? Besides, there was the matter of the prophecy claiming that Voldemort would 'mark him as his equal', and Charles had the scar. Harry did not.

This wasn't to say that Dumbledore meant Harry any ill-will. Far from it: the acceptance of Diclonii into society would be a major step forward. Alas, Lily and James' divorce and her subsequent departure from England scuppered any attempts Dumbledore wanted to make to bridge the gap.

Still, what he heard about Diclonii was concerning. He had stayed up all night, reading a file forwarded on to him by Saul Croaker of the Department of Mysteries. Terrifying stuff. True, he did not fall prey to hysteria and believe them to be evil, despite this supposed killer instinct they possessed. Indeed, _Homo homini lupus est_ came to mind, even when dealing with normal humans or wizards: A man is a wolf to another man.

But still, the sheer power at their disposal, combined with this strong killer instinct, was still frightening. He supposed he should be grateful to Lily for trying her best to ensure that the Diclonii weren't as much of a threat to humanity as they could have been, but it was an uphill battle. The Diclonii seemed to be mostly emerging within Japan, but there had been sightings in Europe, the Americas, Africa…many mundane and magical organisations considered the emergent new species to be an epidemic, something to be culled rather than cultivated.

Dumbledore knew better. They were children. Yes, they presented a threat, but they were also children, children who needed to be shown the way.

Unfortunately, few here were so enlightened. At best, they were treated with wariness and fear. At worst, contempt and hatred. Umbridge was a particularly vocal advocate of wiping them out, and that bitch (an appellation Dumbledore rarely used for anyone) had the ear of Fudge.

All of which meant that Harry's entry into the Tri-Wizard Tournament was a massive clusterfuck.

Dumbledore decided that he would go to the Cuckoos' Nest alone, and try to explain this mess. Bringing Harry's father would only re-open old wounds, Barty Crouch, for all his being in charge of International Cooperation, was a stern harsh and traditional man who might rub Diclonii the wrong way, and Ludo Bagman was a disaster with his fatuous ways. If Remus had remained in Britain, Dumbledore would have brought him, but he was in the Cuckoos' Nest, as a magic tutor, for subjects that Kariya Matou couldn't help with. He also decided that Minerva might be good to bring along.

So it was that Dumbledore and Minerva used Fawkes to go to Japan first thing in the morning, which would be late afternoon for the Japanese. Ah, the wonder of timezones. The facility he and Minerva had materialised in front of was a rather depressingly clinical-looking place, like a Muggle hospital, all regular lines, utilitarian, but not at all enticing. The sight of a bunch of pink-haired children, mostly girls with a couple of boys, all of whom with horns growing from their temples, playing in a playground like children was heartening. True, armed guards were watching them, and a few had swung their guns in Dumbledore's direction, before one of them spoke into a radio. Whatever reply he got seemed to satisfy him, for he spoke to the other guards, before coming over.

He was a rather thuggish-looking sort with beady eyes and close-cropped hair. "Okay, Merlin. I think in future, you should send some bloody advanced warning before you do your little magic trick. Are you the one called Dumbledore?"

"Indeed, Mr…?"

"Bandoh," the man grunted. "Wait here. Someone will be out to get you shortly. Be thankful I was told someone like you might be coming. Otherwise, I might have shot you. Stupid way for a wizard to die, shot by a Muggle or whatever you Brits call us. Just keep in mind, don't wander off. This is still a high security facility. You're lucky I managed to put the fear of me into the newbies earlier. That's got me in a good mood."

"…What an unpleasant fellow," Minerva remarked as Bandoh strode off.

"He is unpleasant, but he gets the job done," came a familiar voice, and they turned to see the haggard features of Remus Lupin as he approached. "He's rather like Snape in that regard. Professors," he said with a nod.

"Remus," Minerva said, her features softening. "It's been a long time. How are you?"

"Lily has been a godsend," Remus said. "And…teaching these kids has been good for me. Puts things into perspective about my own condition. Plus, a Diclonius' Vectors, no, their very presence can suppress my inner wolf. Lucy and Harry are my alphas. I'm afraid, though, that Harry and Lucy are currently at home, away from this facility. They're understandably upset about this debacle."

"And they have every reason to be. Can we see Lily, then?" Dumbledore asked.

"Very well…"

* * *

Lily seemed to be…well, it wasn't happy as much as satisfied, fulfilled. Still looked a bit stressed. And the glower she fixed Dumbledore was not promising. "Professors," she said, rather curtly as they entered her office, Lupin going elsewhere.

"Lily…" Dumbledore began, only for the redhead to hold up her hand.

"Save it. I'm not interested in an apology. Not for thirteen years ago, and not for now. What I want to know is how my son was entered into the Tri-Wizard Tournament, and what you intend to do about it."

Minerva's lips thinned. "Lily, I know you are under stress, but Dumbledore…"

"Professor, my son is entered into a tournament with a historically high body count. If he does not participate, he loses his magic and possibly his life. If he does participate, he opens himself up to the scorn of Magical Britain for being a Diclonius, and that is dangerous. Whoever put Harry into the Tri-Wizard Tournament has opened up Pandora's Box, and so, I am under a lot of stress. Harry and Lucy between them shredded our entire stock of ballistics dummies, and then went home to cook themselves lunch. Believe it or not, that's Brown Trousers Time. The last time something like that happened, two people, admittedly those who deserved it, died slow painful deaths."

Minerva blanched, as did Dumbledore. "You are joking."

"The people in question were a child molester and his new wife. Said wife had a daughter from another marriage. Do I need to join the dots?" Lily said. "If Harry and Lucy find the guilty parties, what they do to them will make what happened to Frank and Alice look like a walk through the park. They also despise anti-Diclonius bigots, and Britain, despite having few Diclonii born there compared to Japan, has a lot of bad ones, like that bitch Umbridge. It's bad enough that Harry and Lucy were expelled from Mahoutokoro, but…" Lily shook her head. "Okay, tell me, what precautions were in place?"

Dumbledore cleared his throat. "The Goblet was only supposed to select one student from each school. In addition, only people above a certain age could submit a name."

"An Age Line," Lily said. "But could an adult submit a name on a student's behalf?"

"Normally, no, but a powerful Confundus charm, I believe, was used to confuse the Goblet of Fire, to trick it into accepting a fourth Champion. That is what Moody believes, and I agree."

"Moody?" Lily asked. "What's he doing at Hogwarts?"

"He's the current Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher," Minerva said.

"…Poor students," Lily remarked. "Okay, so you took reasonable precautions. Still, given the riot at the Quidditch World Cup…never mind. I'm still angry, but you couldn't have known."

"Lily, you should have faith in your son," Dumbledore said gently. "Diclonius or not, Harry is sure to be up to the task of participating."

"The fact remains that he shouldn't be participating at all. To tell the truth, I'm glad you declared Charles the Boy Who Lived, even if you were wrong. I never wanted that sort of fame, and Harry wouldn't have liked it either. But fame is a double-edged sword, and being a Diclonius complicates matters. Diclonii can match the destructive potential of an Obscurial, even eclipse them. Newt Scamander once told me that he considers Diclonii to be a Class XXXXXX creature, if they were ever classified as such."

"Surely that's an exaggeration?" Minerva asked.

"I know my children, Professor," Lily said. "Their potential…it frightens me. Once, during testing, thankfully away from the facility, I had Harry and Lucy test the various frequencies of their Vectors. One of the frequencies causes their Vectors to become visible…and they can strike hard enough to cause a miniature hydrogen fusion reaction on impact. Thankfully, they held back their power as much as they could, but an earthquake was detected on the mainland, and there's a glass-lined crater at that test site. Only a small one, the explosion did little more than knock us back, but still…what if they didn't hold back? They could cause natural disasters if they wanted to. And the only thing between them and such an outcome is their bonds with me and others. The wizards here tolerate their existence at best. I don't think having them go back to Britain is a good idea."

"Nonetheless, Lily, he must participate," Dumbledore said. "I understand your concerns and fears. If I had my way, he'd be out of this tournament. Unfortunately, the magical contract is unbreakable. And that makes him vulnerable."

"What does James think of this?" Lily asked.

"I don't know. You do know James regrets his decision?"

Lily scowled. "What's said is said. I may forgive him one day, but I won't forget what he said, calling our son a freak. That is exactly what my sister called me. And I'm sure Severus regrets calling me a Mudblood, but it didn't stop him from all but siccing Voldemort onto us." She shook her head. "Anyway, I'd better call home. You can apologise to Harry yourself. Hopefully, he'll have calmed down…"

* * *

As Bandoh smoked a cigarette, he looked over at Remus, who was re-emerging from the building after escorting those wizards in. He had a sort of ambivalent feeling for the werewolf, considering that Remus was a wuss, and wouldn't let the beast out to play. Bandoh relished the challenge, of fighting with his life on the line, and indeed, he enjoyed times when he was able to spar with the Director's brats. But Remus could teach a bunch of killer brats without fear, so that gave him some middling respect in Bandoh's book. "So, who exactly are those two, anyway? One looked like Disney's Merlin if he was wearing tie-dyed robes, and the other looked like she had a stick up her arse the size of a telephone pole. And their names? Dumbledore? McGonagall?"

"Professor Albus Dumbledore is the Headmaster of Hogwarts," Remus said. "You may not believe it, but he defeated the dark lord Gellert Grindlewald during the Second World War. He's also currently the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, and the Supreme Mugwump of the ICW."

"Okay, I know the ICW is your equivalent of the UN, only with more backbiting, if such a thing was possible, so I'm guessing a Supreme Mugwump is like the Secretary-General, right? So, what the fuck is a Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot?"

"Like a Speaker of Parliament, though you'd call it the National Diet here."

"Yeesh. Isn't that too much power to give that guy?" Bandoh said, wrinkling his nose.

"Dumbledore is lauded as the unofficial Leader of the Light back home," Remus said. "I know for a fact that he despises the praise and the responsibilities of his positions, save for being Headmaster of Hogwarts. Unfortunately, resigning those positions might be problematic, especially with Voldemort still around."

"Yeah, well, unless Harry and Lucy manage to calm the fuck down, there's gonna be a vacancy opening up," Bandoh said. He looked over at Remus as he took another pull on his cigarette. "Those two scare me. Oh, don't get me wrong, I _love_ that sort of thing. I love the thrill of having your life on the line in battle, fighting a new and dangerous opponent. Why d'you think I quit the NPA? Some wanker claimed that humans are the most dangerous game to hunt…but really, it's the Diclonii. But you know, when they are letting loose, what Harry and Lucy are? They're fucking apex predators, at the top of the food chain. Above humans. Now, I ain't a philosophical guy, and frankly, I don't really give a damn about the rest of humanity, but that's a scary fucking thought right there when you have half a brain. Humans have been so used to being top dog on this planet, we don't take it well when someone comes along to replace us, so to speak." Bandoh's expression became solemn. "The fate of the entire fucking human race depends on the love of two children for their mother. God help us all…"

* * *

Thankfully, Harry and Lucy were calm enough to remain somewhat civil with Dumbledore and McGonagall once they arrived at the Maple Inn, Lily and Kurama in tow. True, some lingering resentment remained, especially towards the former for various reasons, but they could be civil. And Harry at least had time for McGonagall.

"So…I am expected to present myself for the First Task on the 24th of November," Harry said. "I am only allowed to bring my wand into whatever arena you have set up, against who knows what."

"Indeed. Aside from the Tasks, there are two other events you will be expected to come to, Harry," Dumbledore said. "On the 13th, you will be expected to attend an event known as the Weighing of the Wands, a sort of press conference that is meant to show that your wand is in good order. Incidentally, I know you can wield multiple wands with your Vectors, and you will only be allowed your primary wand for the First Task. Be warned that I believe Miss Rita Skeeter will be present."

"Who?" Lucy asked.

"She is a sensationalistic journalist who manages to stay on the right side of our libel laws, barely," McGonagall said with an expression as if she had sucked on a lemon. "She's doubtlessly already written a rather spectacular piece about a Diclonius being admitted into the Tri-Wizard Tournament. Also, in addition, it is the duty of a Champion to attend the Yule Ball at Christmas with a partner of their choosing."

"Ooh! A ball! Like with dancing and gowns and stuff? Can Nana come?" the Silpelit chirped.

"…As long as you don't cause trouble, I don't see why not, my dear girl," Dumbledore said.

"Yay!"

"Will she be safe?" Kurama asked, his eyes looking at the wizards coldly from behind his glasses. "Nana is as precious to me as my own child Mariko. She looks to be in her early teens, but she's actually six, and while smart, she's still naïve to the ways of the world."

"Like when she nearly turned banknotes into confetti?" Harry asked.

"That was one time!" Nana pouted.

"So, if something truly bad happens to her…I'll have no compunctions about letting Harry and Lucy off the leash," Kurama concluded.

"Dr Kurama, if I can help it, Nana will be safe during that time," Dumbledore said placatingly.

"She will be. _We_ will be protecting her," Lucy said. "Of all the Silpelits, Nana is most precious to me, because she retained something I lost, even when Mother adopted me. _Innocence_. She still knows more about the cruelty of our world than she needs to…but despite that, she maintains her positivity. Do you know how truly rare and precious that is in humans in general, and Diclonii in particular?"

"Indeed I do," Dumbledore said solemnly. And Harry could tell that, despite his antipathy towards the elderly wizard, Dumbledore was being sincere. He smiled at Nana. "She reminds me of my own sister, you know. Ariana. Before everything went wrong."

"…What happened to her?" Mayu asked.

"Some Muggle boys happened. Something that nearly set me down a truly dark path. It took Ariana's death to take me off it," Dumbledore said sadly. Then, he shook his head. "Never mind that. Harry, I am truly sorry about this. All I ask is that you show restraint when you are at Hogwarts. Turn the other cheek, if not in forgiveness, then in restraint, for violence tends to catalyse further violence. Defend yourself, yes, but beyond that…"

"We can't promise that," Harry said, hugging his lover close. "We look after our own. Diclonius or human. And woe betide anyone who tries to break that bond…"

 **CHAPTER 3 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **And there you have it. Dumbledore meeting Lily for the first time in a long time, and Bandoh being philosophical, as much as someone like him can be, anyway. I actually decided to give him a characterisation not unlike the Comedian from** ** _Watchmen_** **, a rather vicious, brutal, nasty man who, nonetheless, does stuff for the good of humanity, and can be surprisingly philosophical.**

 **No numbered annotations this time.**


	5. Chapter 4: Things We Said Today

**CHAPTER 4:**

 **THINGS WE SAID TODAY**

"So, this is Hogwarts, huh?" Kurama said as he looked at the massive castle in the distance. "This is where you went to school, Lily?"

Lily nodded as they walked towards the castle. The quartet had taken a Portkey here. Nana loved to have come here herself, but the time difference meant that the young Silpelit would probably be too sleepy to enjoy it. "Looks like something out of a fairytale, doesn't it? And it was, for a time. Before reality set in. The follies of humanity are magnified in wizards and witches."

"I wish I could have come here," Harry said, looking up at the turrets and towers. "I know they wouldn't have accepted me here, but…"

A reassuring pat on the shoulder via Vector from Lucy. "I know. It's a beautiful place. Old and crumbling…but magical. I can feel the magic in the air. It's beautiful." Her crimson eyes looked up at the castle, glistening not quite with tears, but certainly emotion. "How can such a beautiful place be such a hive of prejudice and bigotry?"

"Because humans are capable of both the divine and the diabolical," Lily said. "Humans and Diclonii are not so different in the end, any more than Muggles and wizards are."

Kurama nodded solemnly. "Xenophobia, I believe, is an ingrained genetic instinct. A fear of the unlike, when a stranger could be someone coming to steal your food, your home, and your life, back when our species were living in caves. The problem is when we grow into what is laughably called civilisation, when such instincts clash with the trappings we build around ourselves. We believe ourselves to be superior just because of skin colour or a cultural construct like religion. Or because we think that things like horns are truly the sign of the Devil. In truth, the Devil and God are within us. We just like to think it's more the latter."

"Director Kakuzawa was a Devil," Lily said. "He thought himself a God, just like Voldemort. Pretending to save humanity when he wanted to doom it. I'm glad I stopped him before his plans could gather momentum."

"You saved me, Lily," Kurama said. "My soul if nothing else. I shudder to think what sort of monster I would have become if Yu Kakuzawa(1) managed to persuade me to go along with this."

As they walked up the path to Hogwarts, they found themselves intercepted by a bushy-haired girl with prominent teeth, who peered at them curiously. "Hello," she said. "I'm Hermione Granger. Professor Dumbledore sent me here to bring you to where you need to go."

"A student? Shouldn't you be in class?" Lily asked.

Hermione grimaced. "It's Professor Snape and Potions. I like the class, but…"

"Say no more. I'm Dr Lily Kurama, née Evans, this is Dr Masashi Kurama, my husband, and my children, Harry Evans and Kaede 'Lucy' Evans."

"I know," Hermione said, smiling. "I've read every single paper I could get published by the Cuckoos' Nest. It's very hard to, but I managed to persuade Professor Dumbledore to send me copies he gets from the Department of Mysteries. They're ever so fascinating."

Harry noted the red and gold trim to her uniform, and laughed. "I would've thought that you were in Ravenclaw with that spiel, not Gryffindor."

Hermione huffed. "I argued with the Sorting Hat. I wanted to be in the same House as Dumbledore. Given the lack of opportunities I've heard about in Britain for Muggleborns, I'm seriously considering finding a way to apply for work at the Cuckoos' Nest."

"Nothing wrong with being a Raven in the Lion's Den," Lily said. "I was that myself. So, can I guess you're fine with Diclonii?"

Hermione shrugged. "As long as they're not trying to kill or infect people, I don't care. I'm a witch, a Muggleborn. You know what they call me, especially Draco Malfoy and his ilk? _Mudblood_. It's the pot calling the kettle black, really, if I was prejudiced against Diclonii. Though I can't say the same for others here, even in Ravenclaw. The only other student I know off the top of my head who has any real positive interest in them is Luna Lovegood. Anyone else who knows of them view you as halfbreeds or worse, like werewolves."

"We know. We had to deal with that in Mahoutokoro," Lucy said.

"A shame, that."

* * *

Hermione led them through the various corridors of Hogwarts, before they were brought to a commandeered classroom, and Hermione made her own way away. Harry and Lucy were instantly on edge, especially as a rather stocky, fatuous-looking man began ambling their way. They knew, before the man introduced himself, that this was Ludo Bagman, one of those responsible for Harry's plight, and it was all they could do not to bring their Vectors out.

"Ah, Harry Potter, pleased to meet you!" Bagman said, all smiles, unaware that he was on the edge of death. However, just about everyone else present felt the killing intent radiating off the two Diclonii, and backed away, a rather sharp-featured blonde woman gesturing to a photographer, presumably to capture the moment he got splattered. Bagman held out his hand, which Harry reluctantly took. "And this must be Lily Potter. A pleasure!"

" _Dr_ Lily _Kurama_. James Potter divorced me. And my son is Harry Evans," Lily said icily. "This is Kaede 'Lucy' Evans, and my current husband, Dr Masashi Kurama."

"Ah, sorry about that. Easy mistake to make," Bagman said, not looking contrite at all.

"Yes…as is closing any loophole allowing my son to back out from this farce without penalty," Lily said acidly. "Or, I've heard, losing one of your employees. What has happened to Bertha Jorkins, anyway?"

"Oh, I _like_ you," Rita remarked with a smirk as Bagman recoiled. "Have you ever considered journalism as a career, Dr Kurama?"

"I ask questions because I'm a scientist, as is my husband. We're not allowed to be creative with the reporting of the answers," Lily said, shooting the muckraker a look. "Excuse me, please."

Lily, along with the others, approached the three Champions. Harry took them all in, remembering their names from the newspaper article. The Hogwarts Champion, apparently Cedric Diggory, was handsome with dark hair. The Beauxbatons Champion, Fleur Delacour, was a somewhat haughty-looking blonde with inhumanly beautiful features. And Viktor Krum was a slightly hunchbacked, surly-looking boy with a dour demeanour. All three were staring at Harry and Lucy.

"Cedric, was it?" Lily asked, shaking the boy's hand. "A pleasure to meet you. I'm grateful for the advocacy your father has done for us in the Wizengamot, along with Dumbledore and Saul Croaker."

"Thank you, Dr Kurama," Cedric said, regaining his equilibrium.

Lily nodded, and then turned to Fleur. "Fleur Delacour? I believe I met your parents at the latest conference for Interbeing Relations. You're so much like your mother, you know."

" _Merci_ , Dr Kurama," Fleur said, smiling. "Shall your son be the Champion of the Cuckoos' Nest?"

"We'll arrange it. Mahoutokoro didn't want anything to do with him, though they've been jockeying to make him their Champion." Lily sighed. "Politics." She then turned to Krum. "Viktor Krum…I read about your exploits in the recent Quidditch World Cup. An excellent use of the Wronski Feint."

"Thank you," the grim Bulgarian said.

"So, is this Harry?" Cedric said, peering at Harry.

Harry nodded. "And this is Lucy. My adopted sister. Well, her real name is Kaede, but we call her Lucy, after the Beatles song."

"Do you play much Quidditch?"

"Not that much, but I'm a decent Seeker."

"I play Seeker too," Cedric said.

"And so do I," Krum remarked. "Your Vectors though, they would give you an unfair advantage, _da?_ "

Harry chuckled. "You ever play an all-Diclonius Quidditch match before? Let's just say that the Beaters don't need bats, just Vectors."

"Scary thought," Cedric said.

It was at that point that Dumbledore entered, along with a bunch of people. One was a rather thin, pedantic-looking man with a neat moustache. Another was a rather immensely tall woman with handsome features. Another was a bearded man whose eyes narrowed upon seeing Harry and Lucy. And last, but not least, was an elderly man with pale eyes.

"Ah, Lily," Dumbledore said. "Allow me to introduce Barty Crouch Senior, Madame Olympe Maxime, Professor Igor Karkaroff, and Garrick Ollivander."

Lily's handshakes with Crouch and Karkaroff were very perfunctory, though her handshakes with Maxime and Ollivander were warmer. Soon, the Weighing of the Wands took place, with Harry waiting impatiently as the testing went through until Ollivander got to him.

"Hmm…a Hisau cherry wood wand(2)," Ollivander remarked. "Interesting core, too. A pair of Diclonius hairs, if I'm not mistaken. Your own, or your sister's?"

"Both," Harry said.

"Hmm. Powerful, temperamental…but capable of great loyalty when it is earned. Is your own wand similar, Lucy?"

"The same."

"It must speak to the bond you share. Lady Hisau is very much a proponent of customising wands on the spot, whereas I generally prefer to create a whole batch of them, and let the wand choose the wizard. Still…" Ollivander waved the wand, and a gentle shower of pink sparks drifted out. "Yes, most satisfactory. Should you see Lady Hisau again, give her my regards…"

* * *

The photo-op that followed was rather irritating, given how much Bagman and Skeeter wanted to have Harry front and centre, to the displeasure of the Headmasters of the three schools, and Harry and Lily. Lucy was looking more and more irritated by the whole saga as well. Eventually, though, it was all over, thankfully.

But as they made their way out, preparing to take a Portkey back to Japan, they heard a voice speak, a nasal, resonant one. "Lily, wait."

Lily halted, before turning to face a man she hadn't seen for over a decade. "Severus," she said tightly. "What do you want?"

"I…wanted to see you," the greasy-haired Potions Master said.

"Severus…you made your intentions clear towards me when you sicced Voldemort onto me all those years ago, begging him to spare me, but not James or my children. And if he had done so, then what? Would you have potioned me into obedience? To become your little sex toy?"

"No, Lily, I…"

"Save it, Severus. James and I have had our differences, and we parted on bad terms. But he never tried to have me or my children murdered."

"And what, you shacked up with this…Muggle instead?" Snape sneered, his anger flaring up. "Third time's the charm?"

"And why not? I may have forgiven you eventually for calling me a Mudblood, Severus, if you hadn't joined the Death Eaters and tried to have my family murdered," Lily snarled.

"And how is that family? Your ex-husband wastes his time on past glories, drinking himself into a stupor when he isn't big-noting himself in the Wizengamot. Your youngest son, you abandoned, and he's become an arrogant bully like his father. And this one…horns suit him well." Snape then looked at Kurama. "Keep this in mind, Muggle. Sooner or later, this… _slattern_ will betray you. And… _hurk_." He found himself gripped by the throat by one of Lucy's Vectors.

"You betrayed her first," Lucy said coldly. "Slander my mother again, look at her funny, you even so much as have a masturbatory fantasy about her…and the last thing you experience in your life will be my slicing you in half at the waist. The same goes for me and my family. You're just a whiny teenager who never grew up. I grew up surrounded by people who hated me for being born, and yet, I didn't join a group of wizarding Nazis just to get my own back." She released him, causing him to stagger back and glare at her, only for her to glare right back.

"You'll regret this," he snarled.

"I never regret wiping shit from my shoes," Lucy retorted.

Snape sneered, before storming away. After a moment, Lucy clutched her head after Lily slapped her over it. "Ow! What was that for, Mother?"

"One, you should mind your language, young lady," Lily said. "And two, I can fight my own battles."

Lucy shot her mother a look. Not a glare, just a look. "Mother…he called you a slattern. Nobody calls you something like that. And the thing about calling people names is that they will never stop. Remember the names they called me in the orphanage? Freak? Demon? Horned bitch? Then again, those were just cruel children. No, Snape should know better. He is an adult…theoretically." Her gaze returned to where Snape retreated. "If he does anything to harm any of us…he will have an _accident_. The world is better off without a _thing_ like that in it. In fact…who's to say he didn't put the name into the Goblet himself?"

"Sadly, Dumbledore seems to trust him," Lily said. "But I don't. Any attempt at repairing that trust died when he sicced Voldemort onto us. He made his choice, and he clearly only regrets it because he didn't get to bed me. Anyway, if it was Snape, he'd have put both of my children to James into the Goblet. Or at least Charles."

"…Do you want to see him?" Kurama asked.

After a moment, Lily shook her head. "Not yet. It's been too long since I've seen him, he wouldn't remember me. And he probably resents me. No, I'm tired from the time difference between here and Japan. I just want to go home. As cruel as that sounds, I don't think I'm in any fit state to see him. Besides, if it escalates into an argument…" She looked at Harry and Lucy pointedly. "Not to mention he's probably in a class or something…"

* * *

In truth, Lily knew she was making excuses. Reasonable excuses, but…ever since the divorce from James, where she had to make a new beginning with Harry, she found herself distancing herself from that life. In any case, James had made it very clear that Charles was _his_ , not hers, and Harry, as far as he was concerned, was not his son. Charles would not remember her, except perhaps vaguely. And if James wanted him to not be her child, then she was happy to oblige.

Not that she truly felt that way towards Charles: it was mostly misplaced resentment towards James. She wanted nothing more than to bring him into the family she had accrued around herself. But she knew she couldn't. The realities of the world and James' pride wouldn't allow it. So, with her family, she walked down the path leading from Hogwarts to its entrance, intending to have Harry and Lucy go on a little tour of Hogsmeade first. She didn't know that they were being watched by hazel eyes, hazel eyes she once knew so well, narrowed not in resentment, but in malice…

 **CHAPTER 4 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **Well, the plot thickens. And is Charles the enemy of Lily's new family? Oh dear.**

 **Now, before I go onto the review-answering, I'd like to recommend a couple of** ** _Elfen Lied_** **-related fics. I have mentioned sakurademonalchemist's** ** _Alpha Queen_** **, and while it's sadly abandoned, it's still worth a read. In addition, Gojirob has written a lot of good** ** _Elfen Lied_** **stories that are worth checking out, especially if you're familiar with the manga. Finally, keithallen has also written a number of good crossovers. My personal favourite is** ** _Deliverance_** **, a crossover with** ** _Highlander_** **of all things, but is nonetheless an enjoyable story.**

 **Review-answering time!** **Lu Bane Na** **: I know, and TBH, those bashing ones are enjoyable to write, given how much of a bully James and Sirius both are in canon. But I decided, for this story, to give it more of a shade of grey. They're not exactly allies of the Cuckoos' Nest, but they're not bad people, and they're worried that someone might end up kicking over the hornets' nest. I will disagree with you about Bandoh, though. He seemed like one of the more cardboard cutout characters by comparison, though I'm sure he's more complex in the manga.**

 **1\. Yu Kakuzawa is the name given to the Director's son in Gojirob's fanfics, so I thought I'd use it here.**

 **2\. Named for Maiya Hisau from** ** _Fate/Zero_** **, Kiritsugu's assistant and quartermaster. I used her as a wandmaker OC in previous WBWL fics with a Japanese angle.**


	6. Chapter 5: Paper(Back) Writer

**CHAPTER 5:**

 **PAPER(BACK) WRITER**

When she smelled a story, Rita Skeeter was tenacious in pursuing it. And after the Weighing of the Wands, she knew she was on the trail of something very interesting indeed. So, she quickly filed the paperwork for her and Bozo, her cameraman, to head to Japan, and to the Cuckoos' Nest. There, she intended to do a human interest piece on the Diclonii and their teachers.

Admittedly, her reasons were far from altruistic. She was very much a proponent of the yellow journalism truism 'if it bleeds, it leads', and the Diclonii were very much a scandal. But she also knew, instinctively, that neither Lucy nor Harry were ones to cross. Her journalistic instincts told her when she was sure that the person she was going to topple off their pedestal would have the inclination and power to be a threat to her. Rita had a fairly acute sense of self-preservation, after all. Like many bullies, she tended to pick on targets that couldn't or wouldn't fight back. Or else those who couldn't come after her due to journalism laws.

So, Rita decided to do a human interest piece (read, sob story) about the Cuckoos' Nest, about how the Diclonii were rejected by society, how the Japanese Ministry were too hidebound to allow them into Mahoutokoro, how many were forced away from their parents due to powers they needed to learn how to control. Rita was hoping to cock a snook at that foul Batrachian Bitch Umbridge, who had been the most vocal anti-Diclonius advocate in the Wizengamot. Plus, dissing the Japanese Ministry and Mahoutokoro was fun, especially after that time they threatened her over her exposé of the Japanese ICW representative's affair with a prominent English Pureblood. Said representative had been the former Deputy Headmaster at Mahoutokoro, and had later been found to have had a list of lovers as long as one's arm…including many alumni of Mahoutokoro (thankfully, after they graduated, but still…). That had been embarrassing for Headmaster Tohsaka to deal with.

Now, Rita may have been a vicious bitch, but she wasn't stupid. She notified Lily Kurama in advance. When you had a woman who held the collective leashes of a number of ridiculously powerful children with psychokinetic powers that could reflect magic, you knew to step lightly.

Which was why Rita was looking down from an observation room at a most extraordinary sight in the chamber below. A quartet of Diclonii were fighting each other. Well, sparring was closer to what was going on. It was a three-on-one spar.

She recognised Harry and Lucy, of course. There was a girl in her early teens (at least by appearance: Rita knew that Silpelits aged faster than normal humans) with dark pink hair and eyes called Nana, and a short pre-teen girl with light pink hair called Mariko. "So, Mariko is your biological daughter?"

Kurama nodded. "There was an incident involving a Silpelit. This was before Lily took it over. I don't know her actual name, she was just given the test subject designation of Number 3. I was infected, as was one of my colleagues, Omori, though we didn't know it until later. Thankfully, Lily took over the facility, and showed how we could change the Diclonii for the better, because…well, there was some thought to euthanizing Silpelits on birth. Omori's child is the dearest little thing. She's like Nana, and one of the few Silpelits who lives on the mainland most of the time. As for Mariko…" Kurama's voice caught in his throat, and he couldn't go on.

Lily continued. "Kurama's first wife had cervical cancer," she said solemnly. "They had to remove the uterus. Mariko was born, prematurely. I tried to help his wife survive, but…she died, but not before having us promise to look after Mariko."

"Mariko is the most powerful Silpelit, and she's also been one of the toughest to educate," Kurama said quietly. "Even now, she tests boundaries in dangerous ways. But…she is also our greatest success story."

"Part of the problem with Silpelits is that their emotional and psychological development don't match their growth," Lily said. "They are intelligent, very intelligent. A few Silpelits have a memory that borders on eidetic and a processing ability that's close to savant levels. But they lack experience of the world enough to mature psychologically. To put it into perspective, I believe that part of the reason for the deaths caused by Silpelits was due to, well, temper tantrums. Combine childish anger with a deadly weapon like a Vector used on instinct…and you're left with a child crying over the bodies of a family they didn't mean to kill."

Rita knew she was being told a half-truth here. She'd done her research, she knew about the 'killer instinct' of Diclonii. But she also knew that Lily was telling a lie of omission here. Rita would play along for now. "But why all three against Mariko?" Rita asked.

Lily gave a smirk, and pulled out her wand. "Did you know that I developed a special spell that allows one to see Vectors? It's best cast on glasses than the eye, and I generally put them on goggles or glasses used by the staff here. Would you like to see them?"

Rita only hesitated briefly, and nodded. Lily pressed the wand to Rita's glasses, murmured something, and then gestured towards the observation window.

Rita stared, aghast. While she could see the effects of the Vectors before, the handprints and the like, she could now see them in earnest. Ghostly arms and hands sprouting from the backs of the Diclonii below. Harry, Lucy and Nana each had four such ghostly arms, but Mariko? She had to have a few dozen, all with long lengths. "Merlin…" she breathed. "How did she get so many?"

"I think it may have had to do something with her premature birth," Kurama said solemnly. "Mariko is one of the weakest Silpelits in terms of physical ability. So, to compensate, the natural limiters Diclonii have on the number of Vectors they can wield and their lengths have relaxed in Mariko's brain. Both Lucy and Harry can actually wield Vectors of greater length and greater number: we have seen them doing so during testing. But for now, they voluntarily restrict themselves to four Vectors with a range of about two metres. In any case, calling it sparring is a bit of a stretch. To a Diclonius, using Vectors in play is…natural. Harry and Lucy are training in deadly earnest, true, Harry wants to get his skills up to snuff for the Tri-Wizard Tournament, but to Mariko and Nana, this is more of a playground game. A dangerous one, true, and one I would not recommend a normal human child or even a wizarding one join in…but a game all the same."

"It looks more like a pitched battle," Bozo remarked, the paunchy cameraman frowning at the combat below.

"Appearances can be deceiving," Lily said. "If Mariko really wanted to, Nana certainly would be dead or dismembered on the floor by now, and Lucy and Harry would be hard-pressed not to follow her. That was the keystone to my success with Mariko: instilling a sense of family. While Kurama is the only member of our family related to her by blood, she understands that I am her mother, by adoption if not by birth, and that, in Lucy, Harry and Nana, she has siblings. That was the first step to bringing out her empathy, a key part of ensuring Diclonii are much less dangerous than they could be."

"Leaving them aside," Rita said, using a _Finite_ on her glasses (not wanting to see the Vectors anymore), "what about the parents of the Diclonii that you teach here?"

"When willing, they are an important part of the teaching process. You'd be surprised at how many parents are willing to overlook something like horns and psychic powers. But others, sadly, are all too eager to leave them here…or worse, try to kill them. At least two sets of Diclonii killing members of their family were actually confirmed self-defence. This isn't to say they all are by any means, otherwise, we would not need this place. In truth, this place is part-school and part-orphanage, not to mention part-research facility."

"Actually, I'm a little curious," Rita said, frowning. "I did my research, and apparently the original founder was a man called Kakuzawa. Records say that he was died resisting arrest at the hands of the local Aurors."

"Yes. He did," Lily said shortly. She seemed uncomfortable with such a question, and Rita knew there was a greater story here. "Rita…the late Director Kakuzawa was in many ways as bad as Voldemort, if not worse. He delighted in causing suffering, all to further his own agenda, which meant the extinction of humanity, and the rise of the Diclonii, with him as their god. But he didn't care much about the Diclonii he intended to make suffer too. Of his line, only his daughter Anna lives, and he turned her into a twisted abhorrence that we managed to change her back from." She looked down at the sparring. "I love my children, and don't want them to be twisted out of shape. But I still have to prepare them to survive in a world that fears them…"

* * *

The quartet were finally winding down their sparring match, and eventually, they withdrew their Vectors. "Wow, you're getting better!" Mariko said with a grin that was barely on the right side of scary. Harry knew that the young Diclonius was one of the darker ones in terms of temperament, though that was more due to the unthinking cruelty of a child that young mixed with the abilities of a Diclonius. But he, Lucy and Nana had grown to like her, even if they were wary of her, and they all had a loving relationship.

"You're having fun, Mariko?" Harry asked, approaching the youngest Diclonius, and patting her on the head.

"I don't get to use all of my Vectors that often," Mariko pouted. "Seriously, I wish I was in that stupid tournament instead of you, Big Brother. I want to let loose. Hey, Big Brother, will they have television of that?"

"Probably not. Even here, the wizards are slow to innovate. But I'll see if Mum or Dad can bring a camera or something to record it. Or maybe if you're a really good girl, they'll bring you with us."

"Really?" Mariko asked.

"I don't know. I'll ask them. But you have to be a _good_ girl, Mariko. And remember, the wizards in Britain don't like us. Some of them do, but many of them don't."

Mariko scoffed, before looking up at the observation area of the chamber. "And why is that weird lady talking to Mummy and Daddy?" she asked. "I don't like her."

"I don't think anyone does," Lucy remarked.

"…I like her glasses," Nana admitted, gently kicking her leg to and fro sheepishly. "All pretty and sparkly. Like that musician guy, Elton John? Or that Australian woman, Dame Edna Everage(1)?"

Harry and Lucy shared a look that basically said, _I've got nothing_. The Silpelit was known for her odd fancies. For some weird reason, she liked collecting arms and legs from mannequins left over here, and when asked about why, she said something about having spare arms or legs in case hers ever fell off. It came from a nightmare she had once. Occasionally, though, she sometimes practised firing the arms using her Vectors, squealing, " _ROCKET PUNCH!_ "

Ah, the games children played, even with psychokinetic powers…

* * *

It was evening, and Lily was poring over books about the Tri-Wizard Tournament assisted by Remus. She was truly grateful for the haggard werewolf's help. When she established the Cuckoos' Nest, she reached out to him. At the time, he was working as a bloody temp in some office in the Muggle world, and Lily knew it was well beneath his intelligence. Hell, he could easily have gotten a degree at Oxford or Cambridge, all the way up to a doctorate.

Remus had demurred at first, until finally, she wore him down. And he seemed a lot happier. Hell, he was even in a relationship with Arakawa. He'd even managed to get the workaholic scientist to take breaks, to eat more than instant ramen and actually shower. And in return, she had given him some of his confidence back, made him come to terms with his condition. They were still dancing around whether to get engaged, given Arakawa's workaholic tendencies and Remus' self-loathing, but it was only a matter of time.

"Well, this is disturbing," Remus remarked, scanning one of the pages of the book he was looking at. "In most Tri-Wizard Tournaments, the Champions have to face off against at least a Class XXXX magical creature. It's usually the First or Second Task, though sometimes, it's saved for the finale. I'd wager this is the First Task, given that many times, the Champions were meant to face them without any forewarning, only their wands, just like Dumbledore said."

"I don't trust Ludo Bagman to not put in a Cockatrice, despite what happened during the last Tournament," Lily growled. "The only reason why he wouldn't put in Dementors is that he doesn't want his audience to be depressed. Cockatrices, chimaeras, Acromantulas, dragons…Remus, I want you to start training Harry for strategies against any possible creature they may unleash on him. I know that Harry can handle just about anything, but I want to make sure."

"Of course. Frankly, I'd pity whatever they pit him against," Remus said ruefully.

"So do I. But…as powerful as my children are, Remus, they are not invincible. No Diclonius is. Their bodies may be more durable than the average human, even without Vectors, but that's the thing. Without Vectors, they are vulnerable, and the Vectors need to be consciously used to block attacks. Against a magical creature, that shouldn't be a problem. But we've got someone who put Harry's name into the Goblet of Fire, a human agency who wants Harry in this farce for an agenda of their own. I can't figure out the why."

"Maybe it's a way of discerning his abilities? Diclonius abilities, or at least the specifics, aren't that well known, especially outside of Japan."

"All they would need is someone inside the Department of Mysteries. Voldemort had Rookwood, remember? And if this is Voldemort or one of his agents' doing, why the Tri-Wizard Tournament? Or maybe this is an attempt by some anti-Diclonius faction, trying to drum up fear against the Diclonii in order to instigate a pogrom. That was one of the reasons I decided to allow Rita Skeeter here. For a journalist, she's not good at Occlumency. She figures it's better to piss off the Ministry in Britain than to piss off a bunch of Diclonii. If she does a sob story in _The Daily Prophet_ , the waters will be muddied. Between that, and the support we have with Dumbledore, Amos, and Croaker…"

"The problem is, Umbridge has the ear of Fudge, as does every Pureblood with a big enough vault. Things were going to come to the boil sooner or later. This just hastened things." Lily tapped her lips pensively. "I think we may have to initiate Operation Brigadoon soon."

"This early?"

"Call it a gut feeling. I want to accelerate the preparations and transfers of equipment and personnel," Lily said. "If Umbridge and her supporters get bold enough, then the Ministry here may just let them through, both to embarrass the British and to deal with us. They tolerate the Cuckoos' Nest, but there's more than a few who'd cheer at our passing if they didn't have to get their hands dirty. And even amongst the mainstream, they'd probably send Aurors a little too late. Also, I want the wards at the Maple Inn strengthened. I don't want Kohta, Yuka, or their families caught up in this, never mind Mayu. We'll need to give them emergency Portkeys heading to here."

"…That's sounding like Moody-levels of paranoia, Lily."

"Unlike Moody, it's not paranoia if they really are out to get you…"

 **CHAPTER 5 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **What's this? Rita potentially being helpful? And what's Operation Brigadoon?**

 **Admittedly, I was still in the process of watching** ** _Elfen Lied_** **when I wrote the first few chapters, so I included Mariko in earnest in this chapter. Twisted little bitch though she was, I actually wept a little at the final scene with her and Kurama.**

 **Next chapter, the First Task.**

 **Review-answering time!** **Lu Bane Na** **: Fair enough, but in other regards, he's a pretty shit human being.**

 **1\. I don't know how well she is known outside of Australia, but Dame Edna Everage is a famous character portrayed by Sir Barry Humphries.**


	7. Chapter 6: Take Out Some Insurance On Me

**CHAPTER 6:**

 **TAKE OUT SOME INSURANCE ON ME, BABY**

"I have just one question, now that we all know what we're facing," Harry said, holding up his hand. "Do we get penalised if we kill the dragon?"

They were in the tent, just outside the arena where the First Task was to take place, which apparently involved retrieving a Golden Egg from beneath a nesting dragon. Bagman laughed nervously, not because he was afraid of Harry, but because of what was, to him, a ridiculous statement. "Oh, Mr Potter, why would you think you could possibly kill a dragon?"

Bagman found himself suddenly isolated, as the other three Champions scooted away from him, possibly recognising a Darwin Award winner in the making. He didn't know why. Then again, his Bludger-damaged brain was only occasionally capable of understanding killing intent.

"I am Harry _Evans_. Get it right. It. Is. _Not_. **_Difficult_**."

Barty Crouch chose that moment to clear his throat. "Be that as it may, while you may certainly be capable of killing a dragon with your…Vectors, the truth of the matter is, you will be heavily penalised in your final score. Dragons are very expensive."

"And so is dragon meat and dragonhide. You could at least sell it after I'm done. Seriously, why haven't wizards got their own version of eBay?"

"Nonetheless, unless you want your score to be penalised, I would suggest refraining from inflicting anything other than minor injuries," Crouch said.

"…You know, if my little sister Mariko was doing this, she'd just merrily skip into the arena, mince the dragon, and say, 'NEXT!'," Harry grumbled, though he enjoyed the looks of horror on the faces of his fellow Champions when he said that. What kind of monster must this Mariko be? That was the question in their minds and on their lips…

* * *

Mariko, in the audience, sneezed, before frowning. "…Did Big Brother speak about me behind my back?"

"Nana doesn't know," Nana said to her stepsister, before looking down at the arena, and the dragon within it. "Wow…so that's a dragon?"

"A Swedish Short-Snout," Remus said, peering at the dragon. "The flames it breathes are so hot, they can reduce a man's very bones to ashes."

Kurama grimaced. "Instant cremation. Not a pleasant way to die. Hopefully it'd be quick. And they're pitting teenagers against that thing? No offence intended to you, Lily, but if this sort of thing is what wizards do for entertainment…" He glanced at some of the banners and signs being held by the audience. Most of them were support messages, but a few said, 'DIE DICLONIUS DIE!' or 'DICLONIUS BARBEQUE!'

Lily scowled, as she readied a camera to take video for the others back home. "A lot of those are Purebloods, especially the Slytherins," she remarked, glaring at a sneering Snape when he met her eyes. "Not all Slytherins are bad by any means, indeed, there are many good ones, but most Death Eaters and Dark Lords have come from them. If only Slughorn stayed on as Head of Slytherin. He was a nepotistic, oleaginous sort, and a bit of a coward, but he was a decent man in the end." She then looked over at Lucy, who was quivering with rage. "Lucy…Lucy… _Kaede Lucille Evans!_ " she hissed. "I know the DNA Voice is speaking to you. _Ignore it_."

The DNA Voice, a name given to the strange alternate personality that was sometimes born from the killer instinct of the Diclonii. A genetic instinct given voice. "They despise people like me because they believe me to be impure of blood…they're no better than those little bastards I had to put up with in the orphanage," Lucy growled. "They don't know loss, pain or sorrow like we did."

"…Severus did," Lily said. "His father was a drinker…and a fiend. Drove his mother, Eileen Prince, to an early grave. But…for a long time, he was my friend. He was the one who told me I was a witch, about Hogwarts. But…I think the first crack in our relationship happened when we were Sorted into different Houses. I went to Gryffindor, and he went to Slytherin. Not to mention that I was stuck with James Potter and the Marauders. James, Sirius, Peter…they were pretty much birds of a feather. But Severus ended up growing closer and closer to the Purebloods. Delving deeper into the Dark Arts. I think he did it to protect himself. Even Halfbloods aren't well-liked by Purebloods. But…things came to a head one day, and he spoke words that he couldn't take back. And even when he tried to apologise, I knew he'd made the final steps down a dark path. He refused to break ties with the Purebloods who wanted to recruit him into the Death Eaters." She looked over at Snape again. "In a way, do you know what I see when I see him, Lucy? I see what you might have become."

"What?!" Lucy hissed.

"Lucy, I don't mean that as an insult. But think about it. Remember Pochi? Remember how you kept him hidden from those other children in the orphanage?" Lily asked. "What might have happened if they found him?"

Lucy, after a moment, said, "Tomoo would have killed Pochi…and made me watch. And…I probably would have killed him, and his cronies."

"Exactly. Samuel Johnson said that those who make beasts of themselves do so to forget the pain of being men," Lily said contemplatively. "I'm angry at Severus because he set Voldemort on my family. But I pity him as well. Just as I would be angry at you if you followed your Diclonius instincts, and yet, I would pity you. I wonder what would have happened had I never come to Japan, save you from that orphanage, stop Kakuzawa's madness. It's not an enticing line of thought. And sometimes, I wonder, had I been too harsh with him at the time? Could I have saved him from his dark path had I accepted his apology?"

"Lily…what's done is done," Remus said. "What's said is said. Severus made his choices. Dumbledore may trust him, but I don't…"

* * *

In the stands, hazel eyes watched the proceedings with more than a little boredom. Charles Potter was known for being paradoxically aloof, and yet personable. He shared the messy thatch of hair of his brother, even if it was a dark brown than the mahogany of his brother. He had a scar, no, two parallel scars in the shape of an equals sign on his cheek. He tuned out the inane witterings of Ron Weasley, who believed himself his friend, and the rather more intelligent words of Hermione Granger. No, he was curious about his so-called brother.

The fights of Diggory, Delacour and Krum were of some mild interest to him, but it was his brother, the Diclonius, the creature, that interested him most.

Ever since that fateful night, or at least since Charles was aware enough to ask, he began asking about his brother. He began asking about Diclonii. And he began asking about their powers. His progress was slow in educating himself about them, though Granger was a godsend. If only she didn't do such a dump of information, but she had her uses.

He'd considered entering himself into the Tri-Wizard Tournament, to test himself, or else having his father put his name in. However, he decided that would draw more attention onto him than he already wanted to. Really, being the Boy Who Lived was tiresome and irritating. Useful in some cases, but it was as much a hindrance in some areas as it was a help in others. But this entry of his brother? Ah, that was serendipitous. He needed to see something of what these Diclonii were like.

He had to scoff at Karkaroff showing ridiculously blatant favouritism to his student, and marking down the scores of everyone else. Even that damned halfbreed Maxime, for all her favouritism towards that part-Veela, was more objective than Karkaroff. Oh, Krum was competent, but the solution lacked elegance and finesse. Really, blinding a dragon with a spell that irritated its eyes?

Still, time to see what his so-called brother's mettle was really like…

* * *

" _Ave Caesar_ ," Harry murmured to himself. " _Morituri te_ fucking _salutant_." Now he knew how the gladiators felt, chucked into the arena to die for the amusement of the crowd. And here he was, facing one of the meanest breeds of dragon evolution ever produced, the Hungarian Horntail.

Oh well, he couldn't kill the dragon, unfortunately. But he had his Vectors. And the funny thing was that, when he channelled more of his magic into them, they grew longer, stronger, and more numerous. So he did that, extruding them from his body. Some animals had an instinctive fear of Vectors. Maybe the dragon was no different.

Well, the theory was part-right. The dragon became considerably more skittish when he brought his Vectors out and pumped his magic into them. But it wasn't backing down, he could tell. So he looked at the audience, meeting the eyes of his family, especially Lucy. Emerald eyes met blood red ones, and he yelled out to the stands, in Japanese, "KAEDE! I WILL SURVIVE!"

His message was received, and a sad smile touched her lips. He then turned back to the dragon. "Now, what about you? I wonder…" He forced his Vectors into the rocky arena floor, and yanked out a fairly large boulder. By serendipity, it was in the shape of…ooh, he couldn't resist it.

"To Mrs Dragon, I bequeath: a Boot to the Head(1)," he said, the roughly boot-shaped boulder hurling through the air at a fair whack of speed. The Hungarian Horntail had enough time for its eyes to widen before the boulder smashed into its skull, shattering it. The boulder, not the dragon's skull, though hairline fractures were later noted by the dragon handlers.

Harry was already on the move, using his Vectors to leap high into the air and cushion his landing. He stopped long enough to note that the dragon was dazed and confused, but not out cold. He sent a Vector to grab the Golden Egg, and used his free Vectors to leap away from the dragon before dragonfire bathed the area he was once in. He used his Vectors as a grappling line to pull himself out of the arena, before skidding to a halt in the muddy ground. Before the arena door closed, he used one of his Vectors to flip the dragon off, albeit invisibly.

He turned to face McGonagall, who was approaching with the massive man his mother called Hagrid, and a rather pinch-faced nurse called Pomfrey. "I'd ask whose braindead retarded idea it was to have us face dragons, but I think I know who is to blame."

"You did very well, Mr Evans," McGonagall said. "Your restraint, considering what you are capable of, was admirable."

"Aye," growled a voice from nearby, and Harry whirled, his Vectors at the ready, about to turn a man who looked like offcuts from Frankenstein's Monster into…well, he looked like he had been torn to pieces and hastily sewn back together anyway. "And put those bloody things away, Evans," he growled, his blue false eye peering at him in tandem with his other one. "I'm in no desire to lose more body parts."

"…You're Mad-Eye Moody," Harry said, before retracting his Vectors. "You should know better than to try and sneak up on a Diclonius, then."

"Aye, slipped my mind. Not like me. _CONSTANT VIGILANCE!_ is my watchword, but even I make mistakes," Moody said.

Harry glared at him, before he followed, at Pomfrey's insistence, into the medical tent. The nurse fussed over him, making sure little was wrong, before harrumphing, apparently hoping there had been something wrong. Instead, she peered curiously for a time at his horns, before finally nodding, reluctantly satisfied.

Harry rolled his eyes as she went over to where, if her words were any indication, Cedric was dealing with a nasty burn. He'd faced scarier than a dragon, usually Lucy when she was in a bad mood, or Mariko in a playful mood. In truth, he pitied these wizards. Spells were versatile, too, but they lacked the raw power of a Vector, and wizards were unused to creative thinking anyway. True, pulling out a boulder and all but concussing a dragon wasn't an elegant solution, but damn if it weren't a simple one.

And what's more, he had done it all without drawing his wand.

Maybe that would scare them. Scared people often do stupid things. But Harry found himself not giving a damn for now. Because within minutes, he was hit by a pair of Harry-seeking Diclonii missiles, one a Queen, the other a Silpelit.

"You kicked its butt, Big Brother!" chirped Nana cheerfully.

Lucy, however, was less cheerful. Elated that her lover had survived, but she looked more relieved than cheerful. "You did well," she said with a strained smile. "I knew you would survive, but…"

"I know." He'd seen the banners. Like Lucy, he wanted nothing more than to tear the banners, and those bearing them, apart. He had seen Snape's dark eyes sneering down at him in contempt, wishing for him to die.

And why was that? Was it because he was a Diclonius? Because Harry dying would hurt Lily, and Snape wanted to spite her? Or because Harry was the son of his hated rival James Potter? Or all of the above, plus more? All that he knew was that Snape was his enemy, one too cowardly to do the deed himself, but would gladly watch Harry die while eating popcorn.

So Harry would live, to spite him, and to spite anyone who wanted the Diclonii dead.

Then, he heard Lucy murmur, softly, into his ear, "When we get back…you and I need to undergo some stress relief."

"Yes ma'am," he said. It sounded like a request, but Harry knew his lover all too well. And it was hard to deny his Queen anything, really…

 **CHAPTER 6 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **The First Task is over! But what is Charles plotting?**

 **Review-answering time! I'm glad many of you enjoyed how I portrayed Rita Skeeter. I actually do portray her as being an ally of convenience in a couple of my stories (** ** _Wings of the Forsaken_** **and** ** _In Spite of Appearances_** **), but I view her as being an opportunist more than anything else, one with enough of a self-preservation instinct to know which windmills to tilt at. She goes for Dumbledore, Hagrid and Hermione, not to mention Harry, during Book 4 because she thinks they can't or won't fight back. While many times she seems to be the Ministry's mouthpiece, at other times (like at the beginning of Book 4, after the Quidditch World Cup fiasco) she likes to tear into them. So here, she is an ally to the Diclonii, if only because she doesn't want to get turned into mince via Vectors.**

 **Jostanos** **: Yeah, doesn't happen here. Not yet. You'll soon see why, come Chapter 8.**

 **1\. Harry is riffing on the famous comedy sketch by the Frantics known as** ** _Last Will and Temperament_** **, famously used as the soundtrack to an animation using Phoenix Wright sprites.**


	8. Chapter 7: Can't Buy Me Love

**CHAPTER 7:**

 **CAN'T BUY ME LOVE**

"…I don't think I can face her, Padfoot," James Potter said, nursing a tumbler of Firewhiskey. "Look at me, Gryffindor's Golden Boy, facing the worst the Death Eaters have to offer…and I can't even face my ex-wife."

"I dunno, Prongs," Sirius Black said as he nursed his own tumbler. The two men were sitting in their living room in 12 Grimmauld Place, the flames from a nearby fireplace casting flickering light on their unusually pensive features. They frequently got together like this for the past decade. "What do they say about hell having no fury like a woman scorned? And Lily was handy with hexes. Remember that time when she caught us during that panty raid? I thought my wedding tackle would have polka dots forever!"

James chuckled ruefully at the memory. "Merlin, Padfoot. Where the fuck did I go wrong? No, don't answer that. I know very well. The day I divorced her, calling her son…no, _our_ son a freak and a monster. She holds one hell of a grudge, Padfoot. Remember Snivellous."

"As if I could forget," Sirius said. "Did you hear the word on the grapevine? Umbridge and her supporters are clamouring for the ICW to allow 'trusted Purebloods' to take control of the Cuckoos' Nest. Harry restrained himself when he faced that damned dragon, but she's still using it as an excuse to fan the flames. Bitch."

"He still scares me. Harry, I mean. I've had Croaker forward me any information he can get me from the Cuckoos' Nest. I've got the feeling he's holding back. A lot. But I think if I saw any more, I'd be having nightmares for the rest of my life." James reached over to the table next to his leather upholstered chair, and plucked a sheaf of papers. "If Harry wanted to, he could have turned that dragon into mince, Padfoot. And that's if he was feeling merciful. See this?" He waved one paper. "This is the crime scene report relating to one of the Diclonii they brought in, one who had killed her parents, shortly after Lily took over. She looked six, was actually three, and had dismembered her family when they reprimanded her over a mess she had made. Thanks to Lily, there's less and less of these problems with these Silpelits, but it doesn't change the fact that they're scary as fuck. I'd sooner face that Basilisk Charles slew back in his second year than face Harry or that girl Lucy when they're pissed."

"I think that's going a bit far, but not by much. At least a Diclonius can't kill you on eye contact. Remember, Vectors have a short range," Sirius pointed out.

"Harry managed to throw a small boulder with enough force to daze a dragon, and a Hungarian Horntail at that." He waved another file. "They can throw a pencil through a man's skull, and not through the eye socket either. They can use Vectors to block and even deflect spells, not to mention bullets from Muggle guns. It took me a long time to open my eyes, but…no wonder Lily kept thinking Harry was the one to vanquish Voldemort all those years ago. He probably swatted away the Killing Curse like it was a fly. And Umbridge wants to try and poke that hornets' nest?"

"She's pretty much a Death Eater groupie," Sirius said contemptuously. "If we're lucky, she'll end up mouthing off to the wrong person and be subject to…what do the Muggles call it? Natural selection?"

James nodded, before he looked at the fire crackling in the hearth. Eventually, he said, "There's something else, Sirius. I'm getting more and more worried about Charles. Every time I see him, he's growing more distant, more cold. The only people staying with him are the Weasleys and Longbottom. That Granger girl is only really sticking by him to be a tutor of sorts, but she's distancing herself from him, I know it."

"You've said the same thing before, James," Sirius said quietly. "Charles is just growing up, going through a phase."

"Yeah, but…I swear, he's acting like a Slytherin lately. Not like Lucius' little shit or half of his little court or Snivellous. No, he's acting like Lucius or Cyrus Greengrass used to act, back when we were at school, remember? Cold, calculating, aloof…no Gryffindor's like that. Maybe a Ravenclaw…but…Sirius, it's like I don't know my son anymore, and that's the second time it's happened. First Harry, now Charles."

"You're making a mountain out of a molehill, Prongs," Sirius said, though he seemed to be convincing himself as well.

"I hope so, because if I'm right…well, there's going to be a lot of blood, and a lot of screaming…"

* * *

"SHUT THAT BLOODY THING UP!"

Lucy used her Vectors to close the Golden Egg none too gently after she screamed, her ears ringing from the unearthly screeching, as was Harry's own ears. They had opened it up in one of the test chambers, Lily, Kurama, Remus, Nana and Mariko in tow. Nana was taking her hands away from her ears tentatively. "Nana didn't like that," she whimpered.

"I don't think anyone did," Kurama said with a grimace, wriggling a finger in his ear. "What the hell was that? It sounded like the cries of damned souls."

Remus and Lily were looking at each other thoughtfully. "Mermish?" Lupin asked.

"Mermish," Lily concurred, nodding. "Though I blame Bagman for making that so obnoxious."

"Mermish?" Kurama asked.

"Mermaid language. It sounds like English…but below water," Lily said. "Believe it or not, it'll sound like beautiful song if we submerge it."

"I'd drown it anyway," Lucy said, folding her arms underneath her breasts, scowling.

Lily promptly conjured up a large tub, and then filled it with water. Kurama shook his head. "I'm still trying to get over the casual violations of the laws of physics you perform on a routine basis," he remarked as Lily plucked the Golden Egg from Lucy's hands and dropped it into the water.

"That's what the Unspeakables are for. Believe me, when they heard of quantum physics, they knew something was going on," Lily said, opening the Golden Egg once more. Only this time, an eerie melody wafted from the water. "Mermish," she confirmed. "Which means the Second Task must take place in the Black Lake, or at least underwater somehow."

"Well, let's hear it…" Harry said.

A few minutes later, Harry, Lily and Lucy, who had been listening to the song, shared a look. Lily, after a moment, turned to Remus. "Remus, we need to pore over those books again, for any reference to a retrieval-based Task. I want to make sure of what he will face."

Remus nodded, and hurried out. "Judging by the lyrics," Lily mused, "you'll have an hour to retrieve something from the Black Lake, or else an underwater area. The Black Lake is the only one close to Hogwarts as far as I know, though."

"Something…or someone," Lucy said, meeting Lily's gaze with her own. "Bagman and Crouch thought nothing of pitting Harry against a dragon. The lyrics may not suggest it, but…"

"It is possible. I have read that a few Tasks in previous Tournaments involved the retrieval of a hostage. They were usually the Tasks with the least casualties, though, so I doubt that any hostage would be in actual danger."

"So, that leaves me with the problem of breathing underwater for an hour," Harry said. "A Bubble Head charm might get burst by a belligerent marine creature like a Grindylow, and self-Transfiguration is just asking for trouble. Do you think the rules allow for SCUBA gear?" Harry and Lucy actually did some SCUBA diving off the island.

"Maybe. But you'd have to worry about poor visibility and possibly the Bends. I don't know how deep the Black Lake is, but the Bends and nitrogen narcosis might be possible risks, and if the Grindylows attack your air hose, it might be a problem," Lily said. "Gillyweed is a possibility."

"Gillyweed?" Mariko asked. "What's that?"

"A magical plant that, when ingested, causes the eater to grow fins, flippers, and gills. Getting it should be easy," Lily mused. "Anyway, we'll work on that. I'm going to contact Dumbledore and confirm what will be taken. Hopefully, even if it's a person, the song is just using scare tactics."

"It better be," Lucy said grimly. And in her voice was the solemn promise of pain for anyone who dared to hurt her or her lover…

* * *

Yuka, Kohta and Mayu stared in amazement at the First Task, while Nana cheered as she watched it again, Harry and Lucy looking on. The video that Lily had taken during the First Task had been copied and brought over to them on a memory stick. They were currently watching it on a computer. They had watched the first three Champions do their thing, and now, they were watching Harry.

"I'm surprised you didn't slice it up," Yuka remarked shortly afterwards.

"I asked. Apparently I would have gotten penalised if I did. I actually got the most points. After all, I knocked the dragon silly with a single move, retrieved the Golden Egg, and got the hell out of there as soon as I could, all without injury to myself. Would have gotten a near-perfect score, but that idiot Karkaroff marked me down, as he did with everyone whose name wasn't Viktor Krum. He gave me a zero because I, and I quote, 'didn't use magic'." Harry scowled at the reminder.

"Well, a rock to the head's pretty direct," Kohta said. "And you used your Vectors to get out of there pretty quickly. A lot of those wizards looked impressed. And scared."

Lucy scoffed. "Did you see those idiots with the banners? I'm sure Mother filmed them at one point." Yuka, Kohta and Mayu nodded. "Then they should be scared. I have rarely been so close to giving into my DNA Voice as I was at that time. Those… _creatures_ , those _monsters_ , they wanted to see Harry burned alive or eaten or torn apart by that dragon's claws! At least that dragon was only trying to protect its nest, it wasn't a willing party to that farce! But those monsters, whipped up into a frenzy by that bastard Snape…maybe the younger ones can be excused…but the others, especially Snape, they knew what they were doing. I have a voice in my head telling me to kill people, a genetic hardwiring to kill humans that I have to resist each and every day. What's _their_ excuse(1)?"

"…And that makes you better than them, Lucy," Yuka said solemnly. "I know what you've done at times. Like Mayu's parents. But…that you resist that voice is a sign of your humanity. I'm not saying you shouldn't kill in self-defence. Turning the other cheek is stupid when someone is trying to kill you. But it should be a last resort, otherwise."

Lucy scoffed. "Easy for you to say. Humans may have an instinct to kill, but it's nowhere near as pronounced as it is in a Diclonius."

"And? Resisting such a strong urge is itself a sign of strength."

Mayu nodded at Yuka's words. "That's right! Anyway, they're just stupid people! Just like those people at Mahoutokoro who kicked you out for trying to help someone!"

It was rare that the timid teenager got so vehement. But Harry and Lucy had shown her great kindness, even a willingness to kill for her. True, she had been horrified at it, she hadn't wanted her mother dead…but afterwards, she realised why they had done it. Mayu realised that Harry and Lucy thought her worth fighting for. It had been a revelation to her. And when Lily offered to adopt her, Mayu finally knew what it was like to be wanted. Not desired in the same way that that monster of a stepfather desired Mayu, but wanted, just to be herself.

Harry gently hugged Mayu. "Thanks, Mayu. But the problem is with stupid people is that they don't understand that they're stupid. They think they're cleverer than other people. And that makes them dangerous. We might need you guys to live at the Cuckoos' Nest if things get hairy, and we'll try to get your families to safety."

"Do you think things would get that bad?" Kohta asked.

"Nana didn't like the way some people were looking at us," Nana said sadly. "Something like the DNA Voice was telling them that we didn't deserve to live. Diclonii and Muggles are less than animals in their eyes." She shuddered. "Nana doesn't want to fight, but they might make me have to fight."

"…Hopefully, you won't have to," Lucy said, hugging her adoptive younger sister. "I don't want to either. I don't want to ruin Mother's work of having us integrate peacefully, instead having to clear a space for us in this world by blood. But…I am your Queen. I refuse to let our people go into the darkness of oblivion quietly…"

* * *

Later that night, the King and Queen of the Diclonii lay side by side in bed, breathing heavily, covered in sweat. Lucy gently traced patterns on his chest with her fingernail, smiling. Their lovemaking last night had been a little frantic and less than satisfying. But tonight, it was truly magical.

A thought that had been nagging her for some time, though, had her ask, softly, "Harry…when do you think we should start going for children?"

Harry looked over at Lucy. They had discussed the topic once before. "Soon. I think we're a bit young at eighteen, but…soon. Why?"

"I very nearly asked you, before you went to face that dragon, to have you bed me without protection or a contraceptive charm, so that, in case the unthinkable happened, I would have something…no, someone to remember you by. A reason to live. But then, I thought, that would show little faith in you, and I have our family. Even so…I'm afraid, Harry. Someone put you into this Tri-Wizard Tournament for a reason, and if you die…I don't know what will happen." Lucy's face fell.

"You're worried of losing yourself to your instincts, to the DNA Voice, the rage and hatred, right?" Harry asked. It was a rhetorical question, but Lucy nodded anyway. "Will you stop for Mum?"

"…She hates Mother," Lucy confessed. Her voice became low, lower than her usual low-pitched voice. " _She will betray you. Humans always do. She has you on a leash. She does not love you._ "

Harry nodded. He heard similar words from his own DNA Voice, when he didn't drown it out. "But would you stop for her?"

"…I trust her to stop me, if need be," Lucy said quietly. "I would try to let her."

"Then let's hope it won't come to that. Let's put off having a child for a little while longer, at least until we're out of the woods." A smirk came over his features as he brought out his Vectors and gently stroked her body, provoking a gasp of pleasure from her, while another fished out a new condom from the bedside drawer. "Still…it doesn't mean we can't enjoy ourselves, right?"

Lucy smirked, and then pounced on him, the room soon filling once more with the sounds of exertion and pleasure. Two souls, tainted by darkness, but that darkness was held back by love.

Time would tell if that would remain the case…

 **CHAPTER 7 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **So, the aftermath of the First Task, and Harry and Lucy have had an interesting discussion. So too have James and Sirius.**

 **Now, I portrayed James and Sirius the way I did here partly because I wanted to change things up from my usual portrayal of them in my WBWL fics. Here, they're just flawed human beings who've done a lot of shit they regret. They're not necessarily going to be overt allies of Harry and Lucy, but they want to prevent a disaster from happening.**

 **Review-answering time!** **Manah Scarlet Shadowsong** **and** **Leicontis** **: Indeed: that's** ** _Tae Kwan Leap_** **. Hilarious though that is, I much prefer** ** _Last Will and Temperament_** **.**

 **Jlargent** **: D'OH! Missed opportunity there.**

 **deathbykistune** **: Sadly, Jenny and the Wimp (aka Frank) were absent.**

 **robert32514** **: Uhh, okay? I didn't know Hulk Hogan fought like that, but then again, I know SFA about wrestling, save for some of the best known ones. But if you haven't, here's the URL:**

 **watch?v=vFldBVWFgWo**

 **1\. This is a paraphrase of what the Doctor says to a gathered crowd in the** ** _Doctor Who_** **audio play** ** _Jubilee_** **. However, instead of Diclonii, he was comparing the humans present to the Daleks.**


	9. Chapter 8: I Should Have Known Better

**CHAPTER 8:**

 **I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER**

Lily glared at the Japanese Ministry official in her office. "Excuse me, I think I might be hard of hearing. Would you care to explain that to me again?" she asked in an icy tone.

"We found irregularities during our last inspection. Therefore, we need to do an audit and a more thorough inspection, Director Kurama."

"…Bullshit. I already went through an audit just prior to that surprise inspection," Lily said, glaring at the petty little official, whom she already knew to be a mouthpiece of the Purebloods in Japan, particularly those most vocal about the Cuckoos' Nest.

"Irregularities were found," the toady insisted.

"What irregularities?!" Lily demanded.

"I am not under any obligation to tell you."

"Is it because you think I have something to hide, or is it you and the ones holding your leash?" Lily fixed the toady with her emerald gaze, using Legilimency on him. "Don't think I am blind to the machinations of your masters, the ones you call _dono_ and _sama_ without them having earned the kind of respect warranted by those honorifics. I know that Dolores Umbridge and Lucius Malfoy have been in contact with them, purporting to speak for Cornelius Fudge. I thought the Japanese Ministry was above being influenced by the British?"

The toady realised what Lily was doing. "You…you dare use Legilimency on an official of the Ministry of Magic?"

Lily didn't bother denying it. Instead, she said, reaching for her phone, "I have my sources. I will be making a call to Kiritsugu Emiya, I believe. This farce has gone on long enough."

The toady whipped out his wand, and snarled, "IMPERIO!" But Lily was already ducking when the wand came out. And then, the toady's wand hand exploded, the loud report of a gunshot deafening within the confines.

Bandoh seemed to melt out of the very wall, chuckling darkly, holding a smoking Desert Eagle in his hands, a camera mounted on his shoulder. "And here I was thinking Disillusionment Charms took the fun out of everything. I stand corrected."

The toady tried to lunge at Bandoh, only to get the Desert Eagle pointed at his face. "Naughty," the ex-NPA SAT officer said.

"You…" The toady looked over at Lily. "You Mudblood whore!"

"Now, where have I heard that refrain before?" Lily sneered. "Let's put it to you bluntly. I will be telling Emiya to gather his allies and stymie any attempt you and the British put into interfering with the Cuckoos' Nest. And I am sure I can count on Dumbledore's support, along with Unspeakable Saul Croaker and Amos Diggory to stymie any attempts Umbridge would make in Britain. If you threaten my children, then the Diclonii will be the least of your worries."

The toady merely sneered back. "There will be a reckoning for you, _gaijin_. Filth like your wretched offspring deserves to be purged."

Lily rolled her eyes, before knocking him out with a spell, before healing his hand enough to stop the bleeding, and then began writing a note. "Can I shoot him?" Bandoh asked.

"No, we need to send his masters a message. I also need to send that video to Emiya."

Bandoh nodded. Kiritsugu Emiya was an unconventional wizard, one who, despite being born to a long line of them (long enough to have a permanent seat in the Japanese Ministry of Magic's Diet), had a rather mundane job, supposedly as a private investigator, but in truth, he acted as an assassin for hire for much of his early life, until he settled down some years back with a wife from one of the German families, the von Einzberns. He had a daughter and an adopted son. Emiya was one of Lily's more influential allies within the Japanese Ministry(1).

Lily finished writing her missive, and then turned it into a Portkey, which she placed onto the toady, who promptly vanished. "I think someone must've found out about the resources I am diverting towards Operation Brigadoon. Either that, or Umbridge and Malfoy have more sway with the Ministry here than I thought."

"Fuckin' inbred retards," Bandoh said succinctly as Lily went over and plucked the camera off his tactical vest. "Doesn't matter whether they're Japanese or British, they both fucking stupid."

"Agreed. The follies of wizards and witches are human follies, but magic seems to magnify them," Lily said, taking the camera and downloading the footage, before sending it to Emiya. "Still, it seems like the Pureblood factions who hate us are getting bolder if they sent that guy to us with impunity. Especially if he used one of the Unforgivable Curses. They're more flexible about the Killing Curse in certain situations, but the Imperius and the Cruciatus?"

"Should we put more of a security detail on the Maple Inn and Okamoto's family?" Bandoh asked.

"Yes. Preferably those with experience of magic. And I don't want trigger happy morons, Bandoh. If it boils down to a fight, I'd rather they fired the first shot." Lily shook her head. "Incidentally, we may be getting another visitor from Britain too."

"Oh? Good or bad?"

"Most likely the former," Lily said. "Xenophilus Lovegood."

"…Who the fuck names you guys back in Britain?" Bandoh asked incredulously. "Lovegood sounds like something from a James Bond film."

"True, but Xenophilus Lovegood is three things. Firstly, he is one of the best and open-minded magical zoologists in the world. Technically, he borders on being a cryptozoologist in some regards. Secondly, he owns a newspaper of sorts called _The Quibbler_. It's more of a conspiracy theorist tabloid rag, true, but surprisingly, more often than not, it's more accurate than _The Daily Prophet_ , Rita Skeeter's flirtation with the truth when she did that article aside," Lily said.

"And the third?"

"He's a fairly vocal supporter of the Diclonii, though unlike Dumbledore, Amos Diggory or Croaker, his word doesn't exactly have much weight, much authority. It must've been his daughter that Hermione mentioned when we went for the Weighing of the Wands. Speaking of which, I'm actually looking into hiring her parents. Both of them are dentists, but Daniel Granger is also ex-military. But back to Xenophilus…he's coming to do a piece on the Diclonii. I'm surprised it took him until now to come here, really. Then again, his wife died shortly before Charles started attending Hogwarts, and he was, by all accounts, devastated."

Bandoh nodded. "So, we've had the muckraking journalist, and now we're having the kooky one. Do you think this Lovegood guy will help?"

"Every little bit can, especially as our enemies are growing ever bolder. And we're still no closer to finding out who the hell put my son's name into the Goblet of Fire," Lily said grimly. "And I hate not knowing enough about the situation…"

* * *

In Kamakura, in a graveyard, a small ceremony was taking place. A private one. Eight people were gathered, three of whom were kneeling in front of the gravestone, praying. Kurama, his biological daughter Mariko on one of her seldom trips to the mainland, and his adoptive daughter Nana. Behind them, at a respectful distance, were Harry, Lucy, Kohta, Yuka and Mayu, the last of which was holding her dog Wanta in her arms. Lily usually came to these occasions, but the Ministry of Magic official had been insistent, and the Japanese Ministry took it as a slight if one refused an appointment set by them.

"I wish I could've met her," Mayu said sadly. It was her first time coming to one of these. "Mrs Kurama sounded nice."

"She was," Harry said quietly. "When Mum, Lucy and I settled here, she helped us feel welcome. It was through her that we learned about her husband and Yu Kakuzawa…and through them, the facility. Nominally to research Diclonii, but…Lucy and I were very nearly kidnapped, and Mum went on a rampage even a Diclonius would be in awe of. And as you know, Mum instigated a hostile takeover. Officially, the Kakuzawas, save for the Director's daughter Anna, died due to a rogue Silpelit. Kiritsugu Emiya helped smooth things over. But…well, shortly afterwards, things went wrong. A Silpelit called Number 3 had broken loose shortly before that mess, and infected Dad and another guy called Omori. Omori's wife survived, and their daughter, Chiyo(2), is the sweetest little thing. She's almost like Nana. But…Dad's first wife…she had cervical cancer. Mariko was born prematurely when they tried to save her, but the surgeons fucked up, and Mariko's mother eventually died, despite Mum's attempts to save her."

"And Nana is praying to her because…?" Mayu asked.

"Kurama is Nana's father. To Nana, his wife is as much her mother as Mum is. Nana had been first captured shortly before my mother took over. Though captured is a strong word. Like Mariko, Nana's mother died shortly after birth…but that was due to her husband killing her, and then killing himself, though Nana was elsewhere at the time."

"Does she know?" Kohta asked.

"Mum explained it to her. Nana accepts that, if only because she prefers us as a family."

Lucy nodded. "Many of the Silpelits we take in are abandoned. The deaths caused by Silpelits who had grown up enough for their Vectors to emerge don't help matters, obviously. I myself was left in a field by whoever my parents were. Not even a note. I was lucky not to die of exposure. Before Lily and Harry took me from the orphanage, part of me wished I had died in that field."

"…And you never thought about finding your parents?" Mayu asked.

"To do what?" Lucy sneered. "I took an inheritance test at Gringotts out of curiosity once, and had people track them down and investigate them. My mother died being raped and forced to bear Kakuzawa's child, the half-brother I was forced to kill. I don't think she deserved such a fate…I would have merely cut her head off. And my father was a nobody who was murdered by Kakuzawa. All I have of them are the genes that make up my body, and I am content with that much. As far as I am concerned, my parents are Lily and Masashi Kurama. Parents are those who protect you, not abandon you." Then, realising that she might have brought back unpleasant memories for Mayu with her words, Lucy gently brought the timid teen closer with her Vectors and gave her a one-armed hug around her shoulder. "And you _are_ family, Mayu. Never forget that."

Kurama, Mariko and Nana finished their prayers in front of the gravestone, and got to their feet. "How about some ice cream?" he asked Mariko and Nana. Both girls promptly cheered. Yet another reminder that, for all their potential lethality and Mariko's dangerous nature, they were both children.

* * *

Barty Crouch Junior was troubled. He had been hearing disturbing things on the grapevine lately, about how factions within the Wizengamot was apparently looking to take action against the Cuckoos' Nest. All well and good, and under other circumstances, Barty would have been all too eager for them to do so. The only good Diclonius was a dead one, after all. But if the Cuckoos' Nest was targeted before the ritual needed to bring the Dark Lord a powerful new body was ready, then all of these preparations would have been for naught.

He'd sent reports to his master, and asked what action he should take. He was yet to receive any kind of reply. And while he knew Voldemort had many cares and concerns, especially with the likes of Wormtail looking after him, the fact that the ritual that would bring him back to life was in jeopardy surely had some sort of priority. He only hoped that Voldemort was merely considering the matter carefully instead of dismissing it entirely.

He finally got his reply in _The Daily Prophet_ , and he smirked. The Diclonius problem was going to a _committee!_ If there was one thing guaranteed to bog a problem down in the Brobdingnagian bureaucracy of Magical Britain, it was being referred to a committee.

Barty would later learn that Wormtail had been forced to visit some of the more prominent Purebloods. They were basically ordered to delay any action taken against the Diclonii, or suffer the displeasure of their lord and master. Good, Barty thought. They were disloyal opportunists who had claimed to be under the Imperius.

Of course, this was only a delaying tactic. And there was only so much they could do to stop the Japanese, especially after Malfoy began encouraging them to take their own measures. Still, if need be, they would have to smuggle a Portkey to Harry.

Though Barty had his qualms. Why would Voldemort use the blood of a filthy halfbreed like a Diclonius in the ritual? Technically, the ritual meant the blood of any great enemy. Why would he risk tainting himself with the blood of that horned creature? Did he want to risk polluting his body to gain the power of a Diclonius? Barty felt ambivalent about that. On the one hand, it meant Voldemort would no longer be pure of blood. But on the other hand, with the power of a Diclonius…his lord and master would be invincible.

After a moment, Barty decided that power was worth any price, and he would stand beside his lord, even if he did have horns…

 **CHAPTER 8 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **Oh dear. Things are heating up. Next chapter, the Yule Ball! That may be some time coming, but rest assured, I don't intend to leave you guys in suspense.**

 **Now, I'm curious, how many of you would like to see me do a** ** _Tokyo Ghoul_** **crossover? It's on the cards…**

 **Review-answering time!** **hakon2feb** **: It's less about Bandoh mellowing out and more about him having a way to channel his desire for a good fight. He's not really friends with anyone, but he can be civil with them, though he has a surprising soft spot for Nana. Almost everyone likes Nana…well, save for anti-Diclonius bigots. As for Lucy resisting the DNA Voice, I'd like to think that the worse of the DNA Voice came to the fore after the incident with her puppy getting killed. Because she's adopted in time, she's less vulnerable to it, and Lily can teach her how to resist it. It's actually part of the reason why, despite having such a relatively normal childhood, Lucy is still basically like a far-less murderous version of her canon self: the DNA Voice has driven her to cynicism, along with events that happened earlier, like her expulsion from Mahoutokoro. Lucy can function in normal society around humans, but it's an effort for her. For Harry, not quite so much, partly because he's been raised with love by Lily for all his life. However, Lucy is still much better than her canon self in that she can have empathy for humans other than, well, Kohta.**

 **1\. Kiritsugu Emiya, obviously, is modelled on the main 'hero' of** ** _Fate/Zero_** **, as is his family.**

 **2\. Chiyo is named for Chiyo Mihama, oy 'Chiyo-chan', from** ** _Azumanga Daioh_** **.**


	10. Chapter 9: I Don't Want to Spoil the

**CHAPTER 9:**

 **I DON'T WANT TO SPOIL THE PARTY**

It seemed, thankfully, that they had gained a reprieve for now. Lily knew this wouldn't be the end of it: she hadn't expected either the British or the Japanese to capitulate so easily (grumbling, whining and bitching all the while, true, but too easily for her liking), even with the weight of Kiritsugu Emiya helping her out. Which meant they were up to something. Emiya and their allies agreed.

She had spoken with Dumbledore regarding the Second Task, and found out, to her annoyance, that Bagman indeed had insisted on a hostage retrieval, though the scare tactics of the song were just that: scare tactics. No harm would come to the hostages, even if they weren't retrieved. Dumbledore had help from the Merpeople living in the Black Lake. They decided that, for Harry's hostage, Nana would be taken: Nana was more trusting, whereas Lucy would probably react violently. Dumbledore also consented to allow Lily to tell Harry and the other members of the Kurama family this, on the condition that they didn't divulge this to others.

Lucy had been livid, but eventually acquiesced, though she and Harry promised a retribution if things went sour. Bagman would certainly feel their wrath. Lily would just stand back and allow it to happen. After all, it was natural selection in action.

Another thing they confirmed was that, under the current rules, Muggle equipment like SCUBA gear was banned. They had to find a magical means of swimming underwater. Thankfully, Lily already had a good supplier she could contact for Gillyweed. Given that they lived on an island, they could readily test it out. Thankfully, Diclonius genetics didn't interfere with the transformation. If anything, the Vectors and the flippers created by the transformation gave them extra speed.

Though they had to be careful. During the initial test, Lucy, who had been wearing a bikini, had the garment torn off her by the water turbulence, prompting her to have to retrieve it and repair it hastily underwater. The safety divers supervising the test had to stifle their laughter (muffled by their masks, but they laughed all the same) when an unamused Lucy glared at them, her Vectors visible underwater, and looking ready to cut their air hoses…and maybe give them some cuts, lure some sharks. Still, swimming underwater without SCUBA gear was actually quite exhilarating.

However, soon, the time came for the Yule Ball. Lily went all out, getting Nana and Lucy beautiful gowns. Nana was, understandably, excited. If there was ever a Silpelit, or even a Diclonius, that ever emulated being a normal human child, Nana would be it. Harry and Lucy were, understandably, protective of her. Despite only being six years old, the Silpelit had wormed her way into the hearts of everyone working at the Cuckoos' Nest, and was pretty much their mascot. Indeed, the official press releases often had family style photos of Nana playing with her adoptive parents or her siblings. If the Kuramas were the brains of the Cuckoos' Nest, and Harry and Lucy were its will and hands, then Nana was most certainly its heart. She was the reminder of what they were working towards: a future where Diclonii like her and humans could co-exist.

Lucy also seemed excited, albeit somewhat more understatedly, and marred by her usual cynicism. But then again, she was getting to go out, so to speak, with Harry, being able to do something more like a normal girl. She treasured moments like these, where she was allowed to be human. So too did Harry, true, but Lucy was the most cynical of the two. Still, if you had asked her, during her time in the orphanage, whether she would see herself being invited to a ball by a handsome prince of sorts, she would have laughed in your face bitterly. Oh, she would have hoped it would be true, in her heart, but even by that point, Lucy knew that fairytale endings didn't happen.

But in a way, that was a point. Fairytale endings didn't happen in reality…but on occasion, fairytale moments did. Moments like these, like gems sticking out of a sea of mud and excrement, were things to treasure.

* * *

So it was that Lucy, Harry, Nana, Lily and Kurama entered the antechamber for the Great Hall, dressed in fine formal wear. Lucy, while she loved looking like a princess, found the gown somewhat restricting. She preferred somewhat more practical clothes to move about in. True, if she wanted to move particularly fast, she would just use her Vectors, but still, it was actually easier to use her legs to run and leap instead of her Vectors.

Many of those present looked somewhat askance at her and Harry. Of course they would. She was a Diclonius. So was Harry. No matter how much they protested otherwise, Diclonii were feared the world over. Though the genuine smile on Hermione's face put some of her fears at rest. Lucy had to admit to being a little jealous of how well the bushy-haired teen had cleaned up, but Hermione was one of those here that viewed her with curiosity and empathy, rather than like she was a monster or a circus freak.

To Lucy, this was just an affirmation of her misanthropy. Hermione was one of the exceptions that proved the rule. Humans in general were fearful and hateful creatures, incapable of engaging their brains long enough to actually think about why they feared the different. True, Diclonii were dangerous. But so were humans. Most humans didn't understand, didn't even try to understand. Even now, at Christmas, a time that was traditionally meant to celebrate brotherhood, peace, and goodwill, she could feel the glares. The contempt and hatred, as well as the sour stench of fear.

But she was better than them in every way. She may have her murderous impulses towards humans, have the DNA Voice urging her to exterminate them like a Dalek in a tizzy, but she could suppress those impulses, she could ignore them. True, she had killed, and killed happily, but she also killed those who truly deserved it. Instead of merely pitiful or hateful humans, she had culled monsters who weren't even fit to be called human, let alone people. Mayu's parents in particular came to mind.

A small smile touched her lips at the thought of Mayu. While of the non-Diclonius residents of Maple Inn, she preferred Kouta the best, Mayu had, in the short period of time since she lived with them, wormed her way into Lucy's heart, despite herself. It wasn't just what happened to her, though that admittedly played a large factor. Mayu was just…so accepting, so nice, whereas Lucy knew, if she had been in the same situation, she would have turned her Vectors on said parents the first moment Lucy had. Plus, there was her dog, Wanta. Lucy had a soft spot for dogs, ever since adopting that stray puppy she dubbed Pochi. Lucy had given Mayu a light novel for Christmas, one of those fantasy comedy ones, because God knew that Mayu needed more laughter in her life.

Eventually, the doors opened, and they went into the Great Hall, which had been set up for the Yule Ball. She had to admit, the decorations were marvellous, utterly beautiful. Mahoutokoro would be hard-pressed to do something similar.

Before the dance, there was to be some dinner. Lucy and Harry found themselves sandwiched between Percy Weasley and Fleur Delacour. Lucy tuned out the boring droning of Percy Weasley (he was saying something about how that dried-up old turd in a suit Crouch was ill) in favour of the French girl. Lucy had to pity Fleur for her choice of date: the young man looked near-catatonic from her allure. "You look delightful, Lucy," Fleur said, smiling at the Diclonius.

Lucy returned the smile. The few times she had met the part-Veela over the last little while, she'd grown to like her, and vice versa. Despite her initial haughtiness, Fleur actually empathised with Diclonii, partly because, as a part-Veela, she had her own troubles with bigots. "Thank you. You're enjoying Britain?"

"Somewhat, though I would rather be back home," Fleur said. "That damnable poltergeist Peeves dropped a bucket of ice water on me earlier today in this castle. And, I might add, I was only wearing a single layer of clothes at the time." Lucy winced in sympathy for the blonde French girl, and wondered whether poltergeists were affected by Vectors.

After having some dinner, Fleur asked, "Those girls you brought with you before, Nana and Mariko, I think Harry called them…are they your sisters?"

"Not biologically. Mariko is my father's daughter by blood, while Nana was adopted after her original family abandoned her. Both are Silpelits. But they are dear to me, especially Nana. I also have another adoptive sister, Mayu. Not a Diclonius, but she too is dear to me."

Fleur nodded. "I have a younger sister of my own, Gabrielle. She is dear to me too."

"Treasure your loved ones," Dumbledore said somewhat morosely, apparently having overheard part of their conversation. "You may never know when they'll be taken from you. I speak from experience."

Karkaroff muttered something presumably unflattering in some Slavic language, only for Dumbledore to shoot him a look. In English, Dumbledore said, rather sharply, "Love transcends many barriers, Igor, and Diclonii can have loved ones. Harry, Lucy and Nana are prime examples. Let he who is without sin cast the first stone."

Karkaroff subsided into a humiliated sullen silence. However, Lucy found herself put off her food somewhat. She was glad when the time came for the dance.

As she danced with Harry, she found herself contemplating her lot in life. And while she found it wanting, if only because of her cynicism, she also knew it could have been even worse. Her life in the orphanage was miserable. There were a few adults who cared, but most were apathetic, and a few actively despised her. Most children despised her too, and even if some cared, they were too afraid of being ostracised themselves. She thought back to Tomoo and his little gang. It was before she learned to use her Vectors. Had she known to use them back then, she would have slaughtered them, and while that would have been no great loss to the world, she was sure, the truth was, Lily and Harry came along at just the right time.

Lily and Harry were vindication and salvation in a single package, just as her Vectors were beginning to emerge. They were proof that love could exist between a Diclonius and a human, unconditional love. Lily had adopted Lucy with little hesitation, the only delay being what was needed to get the paperwork done.

True, Lucy had been scarred by what had happened in the orphanage, and her inner darkness still festered and grew. But Lily, in making Lucy her daughter, and showing her kindness and respect and, in time, love, mitigated that darkness. The DNA Voice awoke at about that time…but its claims that Lily would desert her or exploit her proved unfounded. It was shortly afterwards that, at a festival in Kamakura, they met Kohta, Yuka and Kanae. It was a rocky beginning to the friendship, where Yuka and Kanae were concerned, and yet, it became a friendship all the same.

Why did she think of this now? Because it was Christmas, a time of good cheer. It was not always so to all people, with many living in suffering. But to Lucy, the fact that she was alive to enjoy Christmas, that she could actually enjoy Christmas, as could many others of her own kind, was cause enough to celebrate.

She looked over at Nana, who was dancing with a boy called Colin Creevey, rather enthusiastically. A faint smile touched her lips, a cynical smile, but a genuine one all the same. If Lily never took over the Cuckoos' Nest, Nana would have celebrated each and every Christmas that she lived as a lab rat, subjected to cruel experiments. Maybe Lucy would have been subjected to the same horror.

Sometimes, she had nightmares of being strapped in a straitjacket in one of the chambers in the Cuckoos' Nest, eating and urinating through tubes, a grotesque helmet clamped to her forehead. In a perverse way, those nightmares had her break free, and go on the rampage through the Cuckoos' Nest, painting the walls with blood and viscera. At one point, she used Kisaragi as a meatshield, deliberately, to spite one of her tormentors, who was her adoptive father in reality. There was nothing left in her but rage and fury and hatred, and the desire for another. There was precious little humanity left in her in those dreams.

And that was the point, really. Lucy may see herself as apart from humans, but she still treasured the essence of humanity, despite her Diclonius instincts. In truth, the DNA Voice was merely a stronger version of the same instincts all humans possessed, and tried to deny.

The point being, Christmas was a reminder, not of bad times, but of the fact that good times could happen. Sometimes, they merely came your way, and other times, you had to strive for them. But, and this was the important thing, life was not unremitting bleakness and darkness. In a way, that's what Christmas, a winter festival, was a reminder of. That the darkness and cold of winter would eventually give way to spring.

Lucy looked into her lover's eyes as they danced. Her King. They stood as equals, astride the world. True, the ascendancy of the Diclonii would be slow, but it was either that, or risk normal humans attempting their extermination. But their children, their progeny, would inherit the Earth, one way or another…

* * *

Mad-Eye Moody, well, Barty Crouch Junior masquerading as the ornery retired Auror, growled softly to himself as he waited. He'd been given a summons, one that he wasn't sure should be possible. His lord shouldn't be in this castle, after all.

And yet, here he was, waiting in the Room of Requirement while the Yule Ball was happening. Not that he minded, he despised such things anyway. In truth, ever since he was imprisoned in Azkaban, and then kept under effective house arrest in his father's domicile, the only thing he desired now was revenge and to serve his lord. And his Dark Mark was getting even more painful than before.

The door opened, and a startling figure walked through. One Barty didn't expect at all. "You?"

"Yes, me. Oh, don't be fooled by appearances, Barty," the figure said. "This is the result of serendipity. And even if you may not believe your eyes…can you feel the burn in your Dark Mark?"

Barty rubbed at his arm unconsciously. It was even now getting deeper, that burn. "But how?"

"I'm sure we have enough time to explain, Barty, my son," said Charles Potter, though his eyes glimmered red. And his voice had the pitch and cadence of his master. "And then, you can decide, whether you want to serve the crippled remnant of what I was…or serve what will be the true future. After all, there can't be _two_ Lord Voldemorts…"

 **CHAPTER 9 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **So, there you have it. Charles has revealed himself to be Voldemort, with the Horcrux having taken over, and Lucy's been engaging in introspection. Happy Christmas, by the way. I didn't originally intend for this to come out around Christmas, but hey, serendipity, right?**

 **Lucy being introspective like this was meant to be both an acknowledgement of the darker elements of** ** _Elfen Lied_** **, as well as a rebuttal of it. It doesn't necessarily mean bad things won't happen down the track, but this is a lighter story than** ** _Elfen Lied_** **canon.**

 **Incidentally, apparently Dark Horse Comics is finally publishing an official translation of the manga next year. God help us all…**

 **Review-answering time! For those of you unaware, I have posted a** ** _Tokyo Ghoul_** **crossover with the Potterverse called** ** _Raptor of the 20_** ** _th_** ** _Ward_** **. Go check it out. Unfortunately, it doesn't have a Harry/Eto pairing, though I am trying to do such a story.**

 **Forest1395101** **: Lucy is, admittedly, prejudiced. I don't know whether she knows, or accepts the truth, assuming her mother didn't willingly abandon her. Anyway, this is a fanfic. As far as this story is concerned, Lucy's mother did abandon her willingly, albeit in a moment of panic.**

 **Jostanos** **: Voldemort probably thinks, blood purity or not, 'transparent hands of instant murder? Awesome!'**

 **Kaiya Azure** **: Charles' scar was caused by the ensuing explosion and shrapnel. And Nana nearly destroying banknotes is actually a reference to a scene in** ** _Elfen Lied_** **canon (Episode 7, specifically) which is both funny, but also sad: Nana has been freed from the Diclonius research facility by Kurama, with him giving her a lot of money to live with. Unfortunately, Nana, having lived in a research facility all her life, doesn't know what money is, and actually burns some to keep warm at night. It's rather sad because, leaving aside the waste of money, Nana is easily one of the most tragic of the** ** _Elfen Lied_** **characters, if only because her naivety and good nature contrast with her nature as a Diclonius, and how people react to her. In fact, this story was almost as much as giving her a happy life as it was for Lucy and Kouta, and I just want to give the poor little Silpelit a hug for what she goes through.**

 **EDIT: A guest reviewer mentioned _Nana's Everyday Life_. I only know of this depressing webcomic by reputation, as well as being the prequel to a _Team Fortress 2_ crossover called _Nana's New Life_ which, despite being effectively dead, is nonetheless enjoyable for what it is, given that Nana gets adopted by the RED Team. I never intend to read _Nana's Everyday Life_ , and frankly, anyone who has should read _Nana's New Life_ as an antidote.**

 **s/6114528/1/Nana-s-New-Life**

 **Uzushiogakure** **: Some characters I can bash the hell out of, and James Potter is one of them, though here, he has a considerably more complex portrayal than, well, just about every one of my other WBWL fics, where he's basically an evil prick. Here, he's an idiot, but not a malicious one, and one who regrets his hasty actions.**

 **No numbered annotations this time.**


	11. Chapter 10: Lucy in the Sky with

**CHAPTER 10:**

 **LUCY IN THE SKY WITH DIAMONDS**

"Operation Brigadoon," Lily began. "Named for the musical and the eponymous town, one that appears for but a single day every century. However, such locations set adrift in time fill the mythology elsewhere in the world. It's rumoured Atlantis suffered this accidentally, and that Merlin, in order to prevent Morgan le Fay from claiming Camelot, set Camelot and Avalon drifting through time from his prison. I certainly believe the stories about Camelot. To protect the Cuckoos' Nest, I intend to do the same thing for this island. Of course, doing such a thing is an immensely complicated thing to do."

"I'll say," Remus said. The key personnel of the Cuckoos' Nest were meeting in a meeting room, including Harry and Lucy. "The Arithmantic equations are amongst the most complicated ones ever performed. Even with the aid of calculators and computers, it's not something one can just rush."

"I don't understand," Kisaragi said. "Why do we need to use this?"

"Because the writing's on the wall, idiot," Bandoh said irritably to the ditzy assistant. "The Ministry of Magic here and in Britain are beginning to make noises that sound that, at the very least, they intend to take over the Cuckoos' Nest, if not wipe it out entirely."

"Exactly," Lily said. "I knew this would probably happen eventually, so I began working on the contingency for the past several years. Harry's entrance into the Tri-Wizard Tournament and the ripples caused by that have had me expedite this. Already, the more vocal anti-Diclonii elements in both Britain and Japan are cooperating. They despise Mudbloods and Diclonii both, and this place is a hotbed of them. To say nothing of what Emiya has told me. Recently, the Ministry here in Japan has had more motions tabled to take control of this place in the past couple of months than it has since I took control. In Britain, similar motions have been tabled, though Potter and Black, thankfully, have been amongst those who scuppered them. However, those are only the official channels they can go through. I wouldn't be surprised if they send some mercenaries or rogue wizards to attack, and chalk it down to an unofficial terrorist attack. It's also possible that they may either persuade or suborn the mundane authorities to attack. That's why I've had people I trust discreetly watching the Maple Inn residents, just in case."

"Should we expect sabotage of any of the Tasks of the Tri-Wizard Tournament?" Lucy asked, crossing her arms below her chest.

"…That's a good point. I doubt Dumbledore or the other two heads of the member schools will be a problem. Even Karkaroff, while a former Death Eater, is also too much of a coward. Bagman, I doubt, especially as our contacts in Gringotts have shown that he has placed a massive bet on Harry to win the Tri-Wizard Tournament," Lily said. "And Fudge is too much of a coward to do something like this. However, if we have to consider sabotage from any corner, it'd be from either one of two sources: someone within the Blood Purist factions within the Ministry, or else one of the Slytherins who hold rancour for Harry. Those admittedly are the most likely sources of trouble. Of course, sabotaging the Second Task would be difficult, if it takes place in the Black Lake. They have no way of knowing exactly how Harry will retrieve his hostage, and Dumbledore told me that he will be the one negotiating with the Merpeople in the Lake. Imperiusing or potioning another Champion is possible, but I think it's unlikely."

"What about doing something to Nana?" Harry asked. "She's the chosen hostage for the Second Task, isn't she?"

"Yes. I'm making it clear to Dumbledore that all necessary precautions must be taken. In any case, it's the Third Task rather than the Second that worries me. Dumbledore believes that that is the point where a potential saboteur could strike. Given that Harry was entered into this farce by an unknown party, and they haven't made any move since…the Third Task may be when they strike. The ones who entered Harry, anyway. Idiots from either Ministry could strike at any time. With that in mind, I'm keeping this facility on perpetual Easy Yellow alert status for the foreseeable future."

Bandoh gave a vicious smirk at that. "Got it. Gotta make sure I have the less useless guards doing that…"

* * *

Lucy was sitting on the edge of the roof of the facility, kicking her feet idly. Harry had gone to visit the Maple Inn with Nana, but Lucy wasn't in the mood for now. Especially with the DNA Voice hissing in her ears. She didn't like being around Yuka when she was more ornery than usual, as Yuka had a habit of pressing her buttons, intentionally or not, and she didn't want to cause trouble.

She heard her mother approach, and just sat there as Lily sat down next to her. "You okay?"

"Do I look okay?" Lucy asked, a little more sharply than she intended. She shook her head. "I understand why you want to do this Operation Brigadoon thing. You're trying to protect us. But…it feels like running away. My instincts want us to stand and fight."

"I know. Really, the Diclonius instincts for violence are merely those of humanity, amplified. But…can you fight against every one of our enemies, and spare those who aren't as antagonistic towards us in the process?"

Lucy was silent. She knew the answer. If she really unleashed her full potential, she could cause worldwide disasters. But that would wipe out innocents. True, the line between innocence and guilt was a blurry one, but still, if there was something she was glad her adoptive mother did, it was to keep her moral compass alive. Even if she was more ruthless than most humans, even willing to kill or torture, she also did not attack innocents.

Plus, unleashing her full potential would probably literally lead to her body melting away from sheer overload, according to analyses done by Lily. And she'd rather live, thank you very much. She had enough to live for. Remus. Kohta. Mayu. Yuka. Nana. Kurama. Lily. And Harry.

In any case, it was better to live, if for no other reason than to spite those who wanted her dead.

"Lucy…I don't like doing this myself. Because it feels like conceding a victory to them. But I am a mother, not just to Harry and you, but to all the Diclonii here. Protecting you comes first. I knew this would happen one day, and even if it didn't, it was best to have such a contingency in place, just in case."

Lucy looked up at the sky. Unbidden, she remembered why Lily named her that. "…Remember when we first met? When you came to the orphanage? You let me listen to your Walkman. You were listening to a Beatles tape. _Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds_. At the time, it was one of the most beautiful things I had ever heard. Even though I couldn't understand the English at the time. And then, you joked that I looked like a Lucy. There were one or two nice adults there, but you were perhaps the first adult who came there who didn't look at my horns with fear and disgust. I didn't know why until you brought Harry in with you. At first, I was actually jealous. Why was he kept by his parent, and yet I was abandoned in a field? But when I realised you were going to adopt me…"

"I know. I remember that look on your face. You seemed to have lost hope. All you had was Pochi. I remember you dragging us out to where you hid him. But when you realised I was going to adopt you…well, you didn't seem to believe it at first. And yet…well, I remember the smile you had when I told off that hag in charge for calling you and Harry demons."

" _I'd rather have a family who only look like demons, than those who actually act like them_ ," Lucy mimicked, before the same smile, albeit weary and cynical, touched her lips. "Yeah, I remember it. And even though I saw how cruel humans could be since then…what you did for me saved me."

"Hmm. I guess I have a saving people thing," Lily said. "Though I failed when I needed to most. It wasn't until Masashi taught me about genetics that I learned how I could have had a Diclonius son first, and then a normal son second. After all, normally, once someone is infected with the Diclonius virus, they can only produce Diclonii children. I learned it was possibly a chromosomal translocation in one of my eggs, one that juggled the genes enough for a dormant gene to become active again. Or maybe some other kind of mutation. I remember my shock when I saw Harry's horns, and his eyes. Potter was shocked too, said I had been unfaithful. There was even a fairly big scandal at the time. It was only after an inheritance test done by Gringotts that he was satisfied, and even then…well, back then, Diclonii weren't as well known. Even the ones that had been around in the past had faded into myth long ago. But even with those horns, even with what the Unspeakables told me…I knew that he was my son, my child, not a monster. After Voldemort was vanquished, and Charlie was declared the Boy Who Lived, Potter and I had a bitter row. Eventually, I was given a choice, an impossible choice for a wife and a mother. Either choose Harry, or Charlie."

"I know this."

"Maybe, but do you know why I chose Harry? I knew Charlie would be loved, no matter what choice I made. But Harry? Horned? With powers that would frighten many? Would he have been able to cope? Even if I adopted him out to someone I knew would give him love, I worried it might not be enough. But if I chose him, then Charlie would be loved, even if I couldn't be there for him, and Harry would be loved. So I chose what seemed to be the lesser of two evils. It broke my heart all the same. In a way, finding you and adopting you helped fill the void left behind, even if I still miss Charlie. Funny. I was originally intending just to investigate rumours of this very facility, only to hear rumours of you. Lucy…did you mind me renaming you?"

"No. I'm glad you let me keep my original name as part of my new name. _Kaede_. Maple. But…Kaede feels like she was the unloved girl abandoned in a field, bullied for being different. Lucy is the girl who, despite everything the world throws at her, has people who love her, or else care about her. Friends, family…even those who are just good acquaintances like Yuka. Besides…Lucy means 'light'. You giving me that name marks the point when light truly came into my life."

"I'm glad. Lucy…to so many children here, you and Harry are a light of hope. Even those whose parents love them and treasure them still have to endure bullying and possibly worse simply because they were born different. You gave hope to Masashi, had him rethink how he dealt with Diclonii. You're sister to Nana and Mariko, helping them go down the right path…even if Mariko can be a bit troublesome at times." Lily smiled. "Dumbledore goes on too much about how love is such a powerful magic, but he's not wrong. Love can often work wonders no magic can do, as clichéd as that sounds."

"Maybe," Lucy said, before she frowned, spotting something in the sky. "…Is that an owl?"

Lily sighed as she saw it. She reached out, and the owl deposited a letter in her hand, before heading back for the mainland. She peered at the envelope. "Dumbledore sent this?" She opened it up and read the letter. "Hmm. Tomorrow's the weekend over in Britain, and apparently that Granger girl wants to come here. She's really curious about the Cuckoos' Nest, and only now has worked up the courage to ask to contact us."

"You intend to accept?" Lucy asked.

"Why not? I actually had a background check done on her, just in case," Lily said. "She seemed like the sort who would want to work here when we met her. Didn't care about Diclonii's abilities or appearances. And truth be told, Muggleborns don't have many prospects in Magical Britain, or indeed in most magical communities across the world. If she wants to join us, and is willing to work with Diclonii, why not?"

"I suppose. Though what kind of name is Hermione?"

"Her parents were probably Shakespeare fans. While the name is older, Hermione was a character from _The Winter's Tale_. Are you fine with this?"

"She's tolerable as far as humans go, and she at least feels something for us other than fear and loathing. So yes…"

 **CHAPTER 10 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **So, been a while, huh? Yeah, sorry, but things happen, inspiration runs dry, interest in certain franchises goes away, you get the picture. This chapter was originally meant to elucidate what Operation Brigadoon entailed, but I decided to also include Lucy being introspective again, and having a moment with her mother, explaining a little more of their pasts and reasonings. Next chapter (when it comes out, which may not be for a while) will be Hermione coming to the Cuckoos' Nest, and Lucy and Harry bonding with her.**

 **Incidentally, I'm soon getting the first English omnibus of the manga. Here's hoping I don't get too mentally scarred…**

 **Review-answering time!** **Guest** **: I am aware of** ** _Nana's Everyday Life_** **, but have never read it. I HAVE, however, read a fanfic continuation of it here that sadly went nowhere, where Nana is saved and adopted…by the RED team from** ** _Team Fortress 2_** **. It's called** ** _Nana's New Life_** **by The Goddamn Duck, and while dead, it's nonetheless worth a read.**

 **No numbered annotations this time.**


	12. Chapter 11: Ticket to Ride

**CHAPTER 11:**

 **TICKET TO RIDE**

Harry couldn't help but chuckle as Hermione Granger spun out of the very air, clutching a wooden baton that was apparently her Portkey. But as she toppled and began to fall, he gently kept her on her feet with a Vector, ensuring he didn't infect her with the Diclonius virus. Instinct told him that Lucy had done the same thing. "Ugh, I hate Portkeys," the bushy-haired girl muttered, looking distinctly green around the gills. "And international Portkeys are even worse than normal ones."

"I understand," Lily said, walking forward, a stern expression on her face. "Hermione Granger, welcome to the Cuckoos' Nest. Please be aware that you must be with authorised personnel at all times during your stay, for health and safety reasons. Also, keep in mind that due to the confidential nature of the research here, any questions you ask may not be answered, and we had you and your parents sign that NDA before coming." Her stern expression then got replaced with a smile. "That preamble is to keep the lawyers happy. In truth, this is a far less secretive facility than it was not so long ago, and it's certainly safer here since then. However, many Diclonii around here are still not used to unknown humans, and a startled or afraid Diclonius can be just as lethal as an angry or hateful one. Just to be clear, authorised personnel include Harry and Lucy, so as long as you're with them, you should be fine."

Hermione nodded rapidly. Harry found it somewhat comical, if only because of the way her bushy tresses danced around her head. "I…Uh…Thank you very much, Dr Kurama."

"You can call me Lily, Hermione. Besides, my husband is also Dr Kurama, and we get a bit confused when someone calls out that name," Lily said with a smile, before indicating those gathered. "You've met my husband and my children, and you know Remus." She indicated Bandoh, who was on standby nearby. "This is Bandoh, our head of security. He's rather rude and curt, but he's also good at what he does."

"Yeah, and if I say you've gotta keep away from something or stay outta something, there's a fucking good reason, got it?" Bandoh said. "You're a visitor here while we're on an alert status, so if I tell you to jump, the only question I want to hear you say is how high you should jump. Got it?"

Hermione flinched, but scowled, even as she nodded.

"Right. Though I ain't babysitting you for this part. But I may have to later. See ya." And with that, he left.

"Like I said, he's rude," Lily said.

"Where did you find him?" Hermione asked, feeling more than a little affronted.

"He was in one of the NPA's Special Assault Teams," Kurama said, resettling his glasses on his nose. "This particular SAT was on the payroll of the previous administration, to deal with containment of any Diclonii who managed to make it to the mainland. However, once the previous administration was purged, we made him an offer to join, because despite his nastier tendencies, he's also a professional and loyal. Believe me, there were far nastier people than him on the payroll. But enough of him, Miss Granger. I'm sure you would like a tour?"

Hermione nodded eagerly. "Yes, please…"

* * *

Harry and Lucy had to admit, Hermione looking around with the air of a child in a sweet shop was amusing. "This is so fascinating," Hermione breathed. Then, a thought occurred to her. "Dumbledore told me that this facility wasn't so benign not so long ago."

"It wasn't, under the Kakuzawa regime," Kurama said. "I joined towards the end of that. Diclonii were subjected to many cruel experiments, stuff that seems like it came out of Auschwitz or Unit 731. Long story short, Lily managed to stop it all, and deal with the Kakuzawas…though they ended up being killed resisting arrest by the local Aurors, as Diclonii, surprisingly enough, are mostly born to people with some magical potential."

Lucy shook her head. "He was a monster with a god complex, the director, and his son…when I first met him, the bastard wanted to bed me, to have Diclonii children. The Kakuzawas were former Diclonii, ones that lost the ability to use Vectors centuries ago, even if their horns remained. And keep in mind, this was a few years ago, and here he was, an adult in his…twenties? Thirties? Wanting to bed a teen. And the perverse thing was, even though the Kakuzawas tortured us, they also wanted Diclonii to be supreme. I just want to live a happy life, or as happy as I can be as a Diclonius."

"Well, you and Harry seem happy together. I mean, I know you are siblings by adoption, but as long as it's not by blood, I don't mind," Hermione said. "Then again, incest explains a lot about the Purebloods."

"I've said it for years," Lily said. "By the way, here."

She handed Hermione a pair of tinted glasses. "Umm, why do I need these?"

"You don't need them per se, but they're enchanted to allow you to see Vectors."

Hermione put them on, and Harry, along with Lucy and Nana and Mariko, brought out their Vectors. Hermione turned to look at them, and gasped quietly. "Oh my God…they really do look like ghostly hands. Do they…feel the same way? Like real hands?"

"Sort of," Harry said. "Don't worry, the way they are now, they're pretty much harmless. You've probably read about the various settings, right?"

Hermione nodded. "The first is an intangible one, the second allows for actual telekinesis, and the third…allows you to cut through virtually anything."

"You're not that afraid," Mariko observed, pouting a little. "You are a little, but…"

"Mariko," Lily said sharply. "Hermione is a guest, you aren't supposed to want her to be scared."

"Yeah, Mariko!" Nana snapped. "Don't be so mean to Hermione!"

Mariko's pout deepened. Harry and Lucy fought the urge to chuckle at her indignant look. Mariko did have a tendency to act up, after all…

* * *

Hermione's enthusiasm was only briefly dampened by Mariko's attempt to intimidate her. But after the first tour of the day was finished, they had some lunch in the cafeteria of the Cuckoos' Nest. While most of them were researchers, there were a few Silpelits. "It's very relaxed here, considering," Hermione said.

"I've tried to make it so," Lily said. "These Diclonii, even though they have heightened aggression and psychokinetic abilities, are just children. As long as they understand boundaries and rules, they're surprisingly like normal children."

"Who wants to be normal?" Lucy asked with a roll of her eyes. Then, she corrected herself. "Well, I'd prefer to be treated normally, not _be_ normal. Being normal is boring."

Hermione nodded, a little morosely. "Maybe. But while I can't say I know what it's like to be treated as badly as some Diclonii are, I was bullied at school, even before Hogwarts."

"Why?" Nana asked, cocking her head.

"Because she's a smart girl," Lily said with a sigh. "I was the same way in many ways. And then, you got the Hogwarts letter, right? You thought it would be so magical, only to find it an incestuous cesspool of nepotism and snobbery."

"…While I wouldn't use those words, yes," Hermione said with a nod. "And then, I ended up friends with Charlie. Well, I'm not sure if I can call him a friend now. He's always been a bit distant, but these days…it's not like he's bad or anything, but there are times when I wonder about him. But he helped me out more than once. He managed to calm me down after Ron said some tactless things on Halloween of our First Year, and a good thing too, as a troll ended up rampaging through the castle. He stopped the responsible party later on that year, to say nothing of the one using a Basilisk to attack others the next year. Both times, it was Voldemort. The first time, he was possessing a teacher, while the second time, it was some weird possessed diary affecting Ginny Weasley."

"I heard about that fiasco about the Chamber of Secrets," Lily mused. "A number of students were petrified, and Dumbledore was ousted by Malfoy. We had our own problems at the time, though. I was still running around cleaning up the mess Kakuzawa left behind."

"I was one of the last ones petrified, though I'd learned it was a Basilisk by that point."

"What's a Basilisk?" Mariko asked.

"It's a massive snake that can kill you if you make eye contact with it," Lily said. "Their venom is highly poisonous and even corrosive. You're lucky to have survived, Hermione."

Hermione nodded. "I actually used a mirror to check around the corners, just in case, but…I was lucky. Lily…I need to know…why did you leave Charlie behind? He just goes on about you abandoning him, but…you don't seem like the sort of person who would do that."

"…My ex-husband gave me a choice, between Harry and Charlie," Lily said bitterly. "If I chose Charlie, Harry would have been cast out of the family. If I chose Harry, I would be divorced, but I hoped Charlie would be loved. I did not make the choice lightly, even if it was no choice at all. Hermione, try to be careful what questions you ask. They can be rather painful."

"I'm sorry, I…"

"I understand. I like to know everything as well," Lily said with a sigh. "But it's a very personal question. The thing is…if Harry was abandoned by me, what then? Orphanages aren't the best of places, even those run to a high standard. For a Diclonius…Lucy knows what it was like."

Lucy nodded. "Most of the children and even most of the adults shunned me for my horns, even before Diclonii became more widely known. My only real friend was a stray puppy I adopted. That Lily came along and adopted me was pretty much a miracle."

"I didn't make a right or wrong choice," Lily said. "As I told Lucy yesterday while discussing this matter, it was the lesser of two evils. And while I regret leaving my youngest son behind, I do not regret the path it has led me to."

Hermione nodded, clearly filled with self-reproach for bringing the matter up. Harry couldn't blame her curiosity. She had a very inquisitive mind. There were just times when she was a bit tactless. "I'm sorry. But Charlie…he has this resentment. I asked him why he didn't go to see you, and…he just didn't want to. It's like he's a different person lately. Or maybe he's been like this all the time, and everything's just been an act. Ron doesn't see it, but Ginny and I do."

"Maybe the fame has gone to his head?" Harry asked.

"I don't know. Sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up."

"It's okay," Lily said. "Just use a bit more tact in future."

"I think I got infected by Ron," Hermione muttered. "I mean, I've been tactless before, but still…don't get me wrong, I appreciate this, and my parents said you were considering hiring them."

"Yes. Good dentists are hard to come by, especially where Diclonii are involved," Lily said.

Nana shivered, as did Harry and Lucy. "Please don't use the drill," Nana murmured. "Nana doesn't like the drill."

"We're…not fond of dentist drills," Lucy said. "There was a bit of an incident when I had to get a cavity dealt with. Nobody was badly hurt, but the dentist got one hell of a fright when I shoved him away with my Vectors. And Nana…well, she doesn't like the sound."

"I don't think anyone likes the sound of a dentist's drill," Hermione said. "Or anything about them. Unless they're like that dentist Dr Szell from _Marathon Man_."

"Actually, the frequencies and harmonics emitted by a dentist's drill has a particular effect on Diclonii. Our best hypothesis is that it has a particular resonance effect on the tissues relating to their horns," Kurama said. "We're working on technology that does not require a rotary drill. The last time a Diclonius needed cavities filled, we used magical means, but we're also working on laser ablation devices, and tests are very promising. If your parents are employed by us, they will be using the laser ablation drill. It's a little less distressing for Diclonii."

"Still don't like having my teeth messed with," Harry muttered.

* * *

Later on, Harry and Lucy took Hermione back outside, as Lily and Kurama had to go deal with some work. Nana had gone off to play with other Diclonii, while Mariko had been brought to a lesson by Remus. "So, what do you think?" Harry asked.

"It's quite a fascinating facility," Hermione said, frankly and honestly. "I still don't understand why people want to shut it down, or rather, I don't understand why they let their fear get the better of themselves. Diclonii are dangerous, yes, and you have more aggression, but…you can be reasoned with."

"It's human nature," Lucy said. "We're pretty much a new human species, or at least subspecies. No species ever got to the top of the food chain by being nice, at least to other species. To humans, the Diclonii are a threat to humanity, usurpers and cuckoos. To Diclonii, humans are a threat, seeking to snuff us out in the crib before we can properly emerge. True, we have existed before, but it seems like there is an explosion of our numbers. We have powers beyond the ken of normal humans, and aggressive instincts. And violence is part of the human condition."

"Or, TL;DR version," Harry said, "it's basically like the Mutants from the _X-Men_. People aren't rational when it comes to xenophobia, though they love to rationalise it."

Lucy shot Harry an annoyed look. "What have I said about using internet slang in normal conversation?"

"You say a lot of things, Lucy," Harry said with a smirk, before turning to Hermione. "Anyway, we'll be staying overnight not here, but at the Maple Inn. You'll get to meet some of our friends. You'll like them, especially Mayu. Just…don't ever bring up her parents, okay?"

"Why?"

"…Her parents were not good people at all. Let's leave it at that…"

* * *

In a darkened house in Little Hangleton, Charles Potter, or rather, the thing inhabiting his body, was walking into a room. The three occupants of that room stared in bemusement as he looked around, rather disdainfully. "Ugh, what a hovel. This would have been a far better hideout if it were better maintained, more suitable to my glory."

"…Charles Potter?" Voldemort, or rather, the infantile Homunculus containing his essence, demanded, querulously. "How did you…? Well, it matters little. So, you have come to die."

"Actually, I came here to kill you. Besides, I'm not Charles Potter. I'm merely using his body."

Voldemort didn't even bother puzzling that sentence out. "Wormtail? Kill him."

Charles Potter scoffed, and a jet of light pulped the rodent-like features of Peter Pettigrew, decorating the walls with what little brains he had. "And the thing about relying on the help of traitors is that you can't be sure whether they will betray you in their turn. Really, this would be doing you a favour if it weren't for the fact that I am here to kill you."

A rather large snake approached Charles, only for Charles to hiss, in Parseltongue, " _If you know what's good for you, Maledictus, stay where you are._ "

"… _You know what I am?_ " it hissed back, startled.

"Barty was most informative," Charles said, in English. "You see, I have a few advantages over you. The first is that I'm sane. The second is that I've retained my people skills, a bit more carrot than stick, or rather, power and privileges than Cruciatus and Killing Curse. The third…well, even if this boy's body isn't quite the paragon of attractiveness we were when we were his age, it helps that we don't look like our mother bedded a snake. Yes, we needed to look intimidating, but seriously, that's such a teenaged thing to do. Making a nom de guerre from an anagram of our name? Giving us a snake face to look scarier? I mean, I can't talk because I actually am in a teenaged body, but still…"

"You're me," Voldemort said in horrified realisation.

"In a manner. You accidentally created a Horcrux when the Diclonius smacked the Killing Curse back into your face. A little fragment of soul that merged with Charles Potter's, regaining stability. I didn't regain my memories until a little later, but still…it came in handy when I had to put the Basilisk down and fused with the fragment we had in the Diary. It helps that I'm considered the messiah of Magical Britain. Even with the way James Potter has squandered my reputation as the Boy Who Lived in the Wizengamot, and envious murmurs, I am still loved more than you, and certainly less feared. But seriously, you were going to use the blood of a Diclonius to resurrect yourself? I can't fault you on a desire for power, but you know how your peons react to those of impure blood. Why do you think we kept a lid on the fact that we had a Muggle father?"

"AVADA KEDAVRA!" Charles sidestepped the jet of green light with contemptuous ease.

"Temper, temper. I was seriously considering an alliance with you, but…I don't need you. I'm well-placed to become a figure of power without instilling fear into all and sundry…well, fear of me, anyway. I'm the Golden Boy of Magical Britain. I have a chance to start from scratch. I actually managed to keep the Philosopher's Stone away from the old goat, so that's immortality out of the way, Horcruxes aside. Plenty of time to find something a bit more reliable. You, however…I don't need a wild card like you in the way, not when I have that Diclonius filth of a brother to deal with. Goodbye, Tom. It's not been pleasant…"

* * *

It was over swiftly. The Homunculus body Voldemort inhabited was weak and easily dispatched. Charles Potter then looked at Nagini. "He never even tried to reverse your curse. I think we should fix that. We have plenty of time to do so. Still, first things first. I need to figure out a way to deal with my… _dearest brother_ …"

 **CHAPTER 11 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **So, there you have it. Some character moments, and Charles has made his move. Oh dear.**

 **Now, it's worth pointing out that the Horcrux has merged with Charles since the night of Voldemort's attack, but he didn't regain his memories until later in life. He HAS, however, fused with the Horcrux from the Diary. This has helped him remain sane, or at least saner.**

 **No numbered annotations this time.**


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